Source: Covid-19 New Zealand Government Announcements
Update from the Ministry of Health
Today we are reporting 9,563 community cases, 528 hospitalisations and 16 deaths.
The seven-day rolling average of case numbers continues to decline, with today’s seven-day rolling average at 8,990 — last Thursday it was 11,791.
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.
COVID-19 deaths
Today we are sadly reporting the deaths of 16 people with COVID-19. These deaths all occurred over the past 13 days, including 12 in the past two days.
These deaths take the total number of publicly reported deaths with COVID-19 to 547 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 13.
Of the people whose deaths we are reporting today, five were from the Auckland region, four from Waikato, two from Bay of Plenty, one from Lakes DHB area, one from MidCentral, one from Whanganui, and two from Canterbury.
Two 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.
This is a very sad time for whānau and friends and our thoughts are with them. Out of respect, we will be making no further comment.
Easter weekend reminder
We are reminding you that if you are going away this Easter weekend, you should have plans in place in the event you contract COVID-19 or are identified as a household contact of a case.
You would need to self-isolate and likely remain wherever you test positive or become a household contact, so 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 physical 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.
If you get COVID-19 while travelling
Actions everyone can take
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. 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-19 test.
COVID-19 updates over Easter weekend
Over this Easter weekend, there will be regular COVID-19 updates published and tweeted daily, apart from tomorrow — Friday 15 April. The Ministry’s 1pm statement on Saturday 16 April will include data for the prior 48 hours.
Read the full update from the Ministry of Health | health.govt.nz (external link)
