Zaire Karaitiana of Napier uses the coronavirus lockdown to hone his skateboarding skills at Marine Parade. Photo / Warren Buckland
Zaire Karaitiana of Napier uses the coronavirus lockdown to hone his skateboarding skills at Marine Parade. Photo / Warren Buckland
Hawke's Bay has marked its third consecutive day of no new Covid-19 cases, but regional health experts are warning the public not to be complacent.
The total number of cases in the region remained at 41 on Thursday, with 15 people now recovered. There have been 2451 people tested across the region.
Medical Officer of Health Nick Jones said the news was pleasing.
"While we can take some comfort in our numbers remaining static, we would be foolish to think we are out of the woods just yet," he said.
"It remains very important for anyone feeling unwell to contact their GP or Healthline on 0800 358 5453 to be assessed for testing at a community-based assessment centre. There is no cost to this and we have the testing capacity."
At the Ministry of Health's coronavirus update on Thursday, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said there was a total of 15 new cases nationally.
Twelve people are in hospital, with three are in ICU and two are in a critical condition.
Locally, the last confirmed case, on Monday, was a Hawke's Bay District Health Board healthcare worker, a woman in her 40s, who had worked for a short time at Gladys Mary Care Home within its dementia group of residents already placed in isolation away from others.
Jones again said testing was particularly important for essential service workers, given they had spent more time out of their bubble during the level 4 lockdown period.
"The more we test, the more accurate our picture will become of whether there is any wider spread in our region," he said.
"Our public health team continue to work closely with confirmed or probable cases and contacts of cases to ensure containment and isolation are maintained to stop the spread."
Hawke's Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Committee chairman Rick Barker said the people of Hawke's Bay have been "simply outstanding" with their cooperation throughout lockdown.
"Everyone is doing their best to put us in a position to step down the alert levels and I am sure will continue to play their parts, so that we don't lose what we have all worked so hard to protect," he said.
"The Civil Defence Group in Hawke's Bay has built strong systems and will continue to support people who don't have any other support networks."
Barker added: "These welfare networks will continue to operate for as long as they are needed."
