The Ministry of Health reported 9563 new community cases across New Zealand today - including 1617 in Canterbury and 279 in South Canterbury - as well as 528 hospitalisations and 16 deaths.
Today's deaths take the total number of publicly reported deaths linked to Covid-19 to 547 with a seven-day rolling average of 13.
Two of the 16 deaths were in Canterbury, while five were from the Auckland region, four from Waikato, two from Bay of Plenty, one from Lakes DHB area, one from MidCentral, and one from Whanganui.
Two of the people were aged in their 60s, six in their 70s, four in their 80s, and four over 90. Nine were female and seven were male.
Of the 528 cases in hospital, 42 are in Canterbury DHB hospitals and four are in South Canterbury hospitals. There are 28 people in ICU or HDU.
The average age of people in hospital is 57. The other cases in hospital are in Northland: 37; Waitemata: 84; Counties Manukau: 90; Auckland: 84; Waikato: 43; Bay of Plenty: 17; Lakes: 9; Tairāwhiti: 2; Hawke’s Bay: 11; Taranaki: 7; Whanganui: 4; MidCentral: 22; Wairarapa: 1; Hutt Valley: 25; Capital and Coast: 7; Nelson Marlborough: 6; West Coast: 1; and Southern: 32.
Case numbers decline
In the Canterbury DHB area on Thursday, the number of reported new community cases dropped for the third consecutive day. On Tuesday, the region recorded 1813 new cases, then 1670 on Wednesday, compared to 1617 today.
Case numbers also continued to decline across New Zealand, with today's seven-day rolling average at 8990 - last Thursday it was 11,791, the ministry said.
"The number of reported community cases is expected to continue to fluctuate day to day, but the overall trend remains an overall reduction in reported cases."
Today's new community cases are in Northland (476), Auckland (1,903), Waikato (744), Bay of Plenty (410), Lakes (185), Hawke’s Bay (357), MidCentral (415), Whanganui (202), Taranaki (314), Tairāwhiti (78), Wairarapa (107), Capital and Coast (650), Hutt Valley (382) Nelson Marlborough (329), Canterbury (1,617), South Canterbury (199), Southern (1089), West Coast (103), Unknown (3)
Meanwhile, there were 61 new cases identified at the border today, reflecting New Zealand's relaxation on some travellers.
If you get Covid at Easter
People going away for a holiday this Easter weekend should have a plan in place should they contract Covid or are a household contact of a case, the Ministry advised.
People must self-isolate and likely remain wherever they test positive or become a household contact.
"There may be extra costs involved in paying for additional accommodation and changing your travel plans.
"If you have used your own vehicle to travel, you can travel back to your home to isolate, taking public health measures to ensure you don’t infect anyone on your way home - such as maintaining social distance and using self-service petrol stations.
"However, if you have used public transport or travelled between islands, you won’t be able to isolate at your home. So it is important you have a plan and the ability to isolate where you are holidaying, if you need to do so."
The Ministry said there are three actions everyone can do to help protect themselves and others this Easter weekend.
• Be up to date with vaccinations, including a booster if you’ve not yet had one. If you are planning to be away this long weekend, get boosted before you go.
• Wear a mask. Masks are still required in many indoor settings under the Orange traffic light setting. A good rule of thumb is to wear a mask in indoor public settings as we know that mask use halves the risk of spread of Covid-19. You must also wear a face mask on all flights and public transport, in taxi and ride-share services - unless you are exempt.
• Stay home and avoid others if you’re unwell, isolating or waiting for the results of a Covid test.
For guidance if you or someone you know tests positive or becomes a household contact, visit the Ministry of Health website.
For more information on mask use at Orange, visit the Unite Against COVID-19 website.
The next release of Covid-19 data from the Ministry will be on Saturday.
-Star News & ODT Online
