Covid 19 coronavirus: Two new Bay of Plenty cases today

The number of Covid-19 cases in the Bay of Plenty rose by two today, as New Zealand recorded 950 cases in total.

Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay and Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield briefed media this afternoon.

There are 52 new confirmed cases and 30 probables, Bloomfield said. That brings the total number of confirmed and probable cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand to 950.

Bloomfield said he would provide advice to Cabinet this week as to whether the lockdown should be extended.

There are no additional deaths to report. 127 people have recovered.

According to information on the Ministry of Health website, the number of current Bay of Plenty cases rose to 30, from 28 yesterday. All were in the Western region, encompassing Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty district.

The Lakes area, including Rotorua and Taupō districts, remained at 11 confirmed and probable cases.

The Eastern Bay, which recorded its first case on Wednesday, still only had one case, according to a breakdown provided by Toi Te Ora Public Health.

The Western Bay has 29 cases, Rotorua 7 and Taupō 4.

There were no clusters of more than 10 connected cases in either region. The number of cases in a cluster linked to a St Patrick's Day celebration in Matamata had risen to 41, with 9 new in the past 24 hours.

The district health board regions with the most cases were Southern, Waikato, Auckland and Waitemata.

Bloomfield said it would be another week before the nationwide lockdown would have an observable effect on the national numbers.

• Additional reporting NZ Herald

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

NeedToKnow3