There are 6242 new community Covid-19 cases in New Zealand today, including 1202 across Canterbury.
Eleven more people have died with the disease, and there are 553 people in hospital with it today, including 23 in ICU.
In Canterbury there are 55 people in hospital, two in ICU.
The Ministry of Health says the deaths announced today take the total number of publicly reported deaths 19 to 597. The seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 14.
The ministry says age and location breakdowns of the people who have died over the past two days are unavailable today.
The seven-day rolling average of case numbers continues to decline, with today's seven-day rolling average at 7986 – last Monday it was 10,169.
New cases: Northland (295), Waitemata (526), Auckland (453), Counties Manukau (396), Waikato (463), Bay of Plenty (264), Lakes (105), Hawke’s Bay (187), MidCentral (269), Whanganui (94), Taranaki (223), Tairāwhiti (53), Wairarapa (69), Capital and Coast (425), Hutt Valley (226), Nelson Marlborough (178), Canterbury (1066), South Canterbury (136), Southern (746), West Coast (63), Unknown (5).
Hospitalisations by DHB: Northern region (including Northland, Waitemata, Auckland and Counties Manukau): 293 (7 in ICU); Waikato: 37 (3 in ICU); Bay of Plenty: 28 (1 in ICU); Lakes: 11; Tairawhiti: 1 (1 in ICU); Hawke's Bay: 10 (2 in ICU); Taranaki: 13 (1 in ICU); Mid Central: 18 (3 in ICU); Whanganui: 3 (1 in ICU); Capital & Coast: 17; Wairarapa: 4; Hutt Valley: 21; Nelson Marlborough: 12 (1 in ICU); Canterbury: 52 (2 in ICU); West Coast: 2; South Canterbury: 3; Southern: 28 (1 in ICU).
MOH Easter weekend reminder
We are reminding you that if you are travelling home today from your Easter break, 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 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. It is important you have a plan and the ability to isolate where you are holidaying, if you need to do so.
There are three actions everyone can do to help protect themselves and others.
Firstly – be up to date with vaccinations, including a booster if you’ve not yet had one.
Secondly – 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.
And thirdly – stay home and avoid others if you’re unwell, isolating or waiting for the results of a COVID-19 test.
