Covid 19 coronavirus: New Hawke's Bay case travelled internationally

Hawke's Bay has one new case of Covid-19, bringing the total in the region to 16, adding to the national total of 708.

Of the 16, 10 are related to international travel including the new case, a man in his 20s.

Medical Officer of Health Dr Rachel Eyre said the new case was a person recently returned from overseas.

The person had done all the right things and self-isolated as soon as they had returned into the country, she said.

Covid-19 symptoms include a cough, high temperature, runny nose, sneezing or shortness of breath.

Eyre said public health's focus remained on contact tracing to identify anyone who may have come into contact with passengers or crew from the Ruby Princess cruise ship, which docked in Napier on March 15.

"Anyone who believes they were in close contact with Ruby Princess passenger or crew and has developed Covid-19 symptoms in the past fortnight is strongly advised to contact their GP so they could be assessed for referral to a Community-Based Assessment Centre (CBAC) for testing," Eyre said.

She reminded people that they needed an appointment at a CBAC before they could be assessed.

People are also able to call Healthline's free 24/7 dedicated Covid-19 number on 0800 358 5453 for advice. Interpreters are available on request.

On Wednesday there were 61 new confirmed and probable Covid-19 cases in New Zealand, Director of Public Health Caroline McElnay said.

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McElnay said there was still a strong link to overseas travel, with just over half of the cases reporting overseas travel.

About 1 per cent of cases were due to community transmission.

A new case definition for testing would be issued, she said.

"But we do rely on clinical judgement at all times," she said.

Anyone with respiratory symptoms consistent with Covid-19 should now be tested regardless of whether they had been overseas or in close contact with a confirmed case.

About 1843 tests per day were conducted in the past week, with daily capacity at about 3700 tests.

More testing capacity is being added, she said.

A number of clusters, or outbreaks from connected cases, had sprung up, McElnay said.

She said in those clusters, close contacts needed to be identified so get better control of the spread of the virus.

The Ministry of Health had been in touch with 418 close contacts, she said.

People were contacted by phone to keep up the rules of physical distancing, she said.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

On Monday a photo of a half-cauliflower for sale for $7 at Pak'nSave Napier was widely shared on social media, with commenters mostly fuming at the price.

At the Prime Minister's coronavirus update on Wednesday, Jacinda Ardern said about 990 emails had so far been sent to the government's newly set up email system to alert authorities about alleged price-gouging.

Ardern said the most common complaint was the high price of cauliflower, but hand sanitiser, bread, meat and garlic also featured.

"The process for dealing with complaints is being worked through and we will involve traders so they have a chance to respond," she said.