Covid 19 coronavirus: Cases in Bay of Plenty rise by two, national figures drop

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield. Photo / File

Covid-19 cases in the Bay of Plenty District Health Board area, which covers Tauranga and Whakatāne, rose by two again overnight.

The total number of cases in the Bay of Plenty DHB area now stands at 40.

Of the 40 cases, there were 30 confirmed cases, the majority of whom had travelled overseas.

Another 10 were probable cases, with no links to overseas travel.

In the Lakes District Health Board area, which covers Rotorua and Taupō, the total cases remained at 12, with eight cases in Rotorua and four in Taupō, and no new cases today.

Again the majority of patients had travelled overseas, according to Ministry of Health data.

Nationally the number of confirmed cases stands at 992 and there are 247 probable cases bringing the total to 1239. That's 29 more in past 24 hours.

Fourteen people are in hospital, two more than yesterday, with four of those patients are in intensive care, one each in North Shore, Middlemore, Dunedin and Wellington regional hospitals.

Of the confirmed case, 317 people have recovered, 35 more than yesterday.

So far there has been only one death.

The district health board areas with the most cases are Southern (200), Waitemata (171) , Waikato (163), and Canterbury with 119 cases.

New Zealand's 12 significant clusters, included 64 cases from the St Patrick's Day celebration in Matamata, and 84 from Marist College in Auckland.

The Bay of Plenty is yet to record any potential Covid-19 cluster groups.

Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield revealed there were 29 new cases of coronavirus in New Zealand, with 23 confirmed cases and six probable cases.

Bloomfield said this was the fourth consecutive day when the number of cases had dropped and the lowest number since March 21 which was "encouraging", plus 317 people have recovered from the virus, 35 more than yesterday.

There were 3990 lab tests yesterday, bringing the total tests to 51, 165 and 47, 056 stock supplies for further tests, he said.

Of the 1,239 cases, 41 per cent were linked to overseas travel and currently, two per cent were as a result of community transmission.

The source of another 13 per cent of cases was under investigation, he said

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said tough new quarantine measures for Kiwis arriving home from overseas would kick in from tonight and will be quarantined for 14 days.

"No one goes home, everyone goes into a managed facility," Ardern said.

She urged everyone to fully comply with the lockdown restrictions and to stay in their bubble as doing so had saved lives.

Halfway through the lockdown, Ardern said while the country had turned a corner, it was no time to relax as not everyone was doing the right thing.

She said people should expect roadblocks this Easter with police monitoring compliance.

NeedToKnow3

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