There are five new cases of Covid-19 being reported in the Bay of Plenty today.

Of these cases, four are linked to existing cases in Mount Manganui. Investigations are underway into any possible links between the remaining case and any known cases.

A Ministry of Health spokesperson says it is critical that anyone with any cold or flu symptoms gets tested as quickly as possible – maintaining a high rate of testing in the Bay of Plenty will help to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Case interviews continue to identify new locations of interest which are being added regularly to the webpage which can be found here.

Testing locations for the Bay of Plenty can be found on the Healthpoint website.

Including the five Bay of Plenty cases announced today, there are 205 cases of Covid-19 being reported around the country.

Of these cases, 175 are in Auckland, 20 in the Waikato, four in Northland, five in the Bay of Plenty and one in the Lakes region.

There are 85 people in hospital throughout the country today, with six people in HDU or ICU units.

“The spread of Covid-19 cases to regions throughout New Zealand is a reminder that everyone needs to heed the advice that will help keep our communities as safe as possible,” says the Ministry of Health spokesperson.

“That includes ensuring you and your loved ones are fully vaccinated if eligible, get tested even if you have only mild symptoms, wear a mask, keep a safe distance from people outside your bubble, and keep track of your movements outside your home.”

The Ministry of Health today is also reporting the death of a patient with Covid-19.

Counties Manukau Health has informed the Ministry of the death of a man in his 40s at Middlemore Hospital, they say.

“No further information will be released until conversations with the man’s family have concluded.

“Our thoughts are with the man’s family and friends at this deeply sad time.”

There were 9,851 first and second vaccine doses administered yesterday, made up of 3,079 first doses and 6,772 second doses.

To date, 91 per cent of eligible people in New Zealand have had their first dose and 83 per cent are fully vaccinated.

“As of 9am today, about 1,128,000 requests for a My Vaccine Pass had been processed.

“The system is operating smoothly, and capacity has been increased, so we encourage people to go to MyCovidRecord.health.nz to book their My Vaccine Pass to be ready for summer,” says the spokesperson.

Source: SunLive.co.nz