The number of new community cases has declined to 1913 in Canterbury today.
There are 11,634 new cases in the New Zealand community today, including 224 in South Canterbury.
Yesterday there were 2108 new cases in Canterbury and on Tuesday there were 2225.
The Ministry of Health also reported 13 more people with Covid-19 have died, taking the total number of publicly reported deaths to 456 with a seven-day rolling average of 17.
There are 639 people in hospital with Covid-19, including 45 cases in Canterbury DHB hospitals and six in South Canterbury hospitals. There are 29 people in ICU or HDU.
The other cases in hospital were in Northland: 27; Waitemata: 99; Counties Manukau: 116; Auckland: 99; Waikato: 72; Bay of Plenty: 41; Lakes: 10; Tairāwhiti: 3; Hawke’s Bay: 19; Taranaki: 7; Whanganui: 8; MidCentral: 17; Wairarapa: 3; Hutt Valley: 12; Capital and Coast: 19; Nelson Marlborough: 14; West Coast: 0; and Southern: 22.
There were 51 new cases identified at the border. The number of active community cases in New Zealand now stands at 82,513.
Today's other new community cases are in Northland (549), Auckland (2,179), Waikato (1,030), Bay of Plenty (553), Lakes (266), Hawke’s Bay (480), MidCentral (630), Whanganui (296), Taranaki (402), Tairāwhiti (149), Wairarapa (98), Capital and Coast (782), Hutt Valley (394), Nelson Marlborough (441), Southern (1,157), West Coast (89), and Unknown (2).
Health bosses resign
The latest data is being presented by Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay and her boss, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield, whose resignations were made public yesterday.
The resignations come as New Zealand starts winding back public health restrictions after reaching high vaccination levels and battling the Omicron wave of the pandemic.
The accuracy of rapid antigen tests is also in the spotlight, with increasing reports of people having the virus, but recording multiple negative test results.
The first 1pm Covid press conference was streamed on January 27, 2020 - and this stand up today was number 299.
The stand ups would continue - but without McElnay. She would be travelling overseas - and there were many people she wanted to thank.
"I want to finish by thank you all, all New Zealanders for getting us to where we are today on what has been a roller coaster of a ride."
She also thanked the media.
McElnay said two years ago New Zealand was in the early stages of the alert level response and in lockdown.
We have learnt a lot since then but also a lot has changed, she said.
McElnay said some of the measures we had used previously weren't needed now - mask use was needed.
Masks were a critical aspect of the public health response.
Reflecting on the past outbreak response, she described how car parks were turned into vaccination sites.
Her team were frequently working from home as many others did the same, she said.
McElnay said sharing information during Covid needed to be fast - and we had seen more online papers being published which allowed the spread of information within the science community often within days.
She said vaccines and treatments effective at keeping people out of hospital were developed fast as we developments in tracking and testing people.
"There have been frequent changes in advice and approach as we have learnt more about Covid," she said.
She said they had endeavoured to use the science and experience here and overseas to guide the response.
"People have listened and people have acted."
At times, it has felt as though there has been an overwhelming about of information produced about the pandemic, she said.
At the same time, misinformation was being produced.
Bloomfield said there had been some speculation and concern about his and McElnay's departure.
McElnay finishes today while Bloomfield is in the role for four months. Jim Miller is acting as her replacement.
"Dr McElnay has been instrumental and often the public face of the Ministry's response," Bloomfield said.
Flu returns
Today's press conference also follows the news influenza has returned to New Zealand after a two-year absence.
Covid's arrival in 2020 largely wiped out the flu, due to international border closures and lockdowns.
"Our immune naivety will be the big issue here, as most people will not have had flu for two years, if not longer," Otago University virologist Dr Jemma Geoghegan told the Herald.
But tackling any future flu resurgence will be for the next crop of public health leaders to deal with.
Bloomfield said a "personal thank you" for McElnay at what was her last media stand-up.
The resignations of both officials became public knowledge yesterday, when it was also revealed Public Health deputy director Dr Niki Stefanogiannis was stepping down.
Burnout is thought to have been a possible factor in the resignations after two years of an intense and fast-changing public health emergency.
The resignations also happened amid uncertainty about looming health sector reforms, with the ministry moving into a strategy role and Health NZ running the health system.
Dr Jim Miller, from Toi te Ora Public Health in the Bay of Plenty, will be the acting director of Public Health from Monday.
McElnay's resignation was announced to ministry staff in February.
McElnay planned to spend the next six months travelling, according to a ministry email the Herald obtained. Tomorrow is also Stefanogiannis' last day with the ministry.
- with ODT Online
