Day #15 of lockdown and the Government’s ‘cautious optimism’ gives way to declaration: “we are turning a corner”, with a fourth consecutive day of declining new cases, despite more testing than ever.
On the eve of the lockdown, modelling showed New Zealand was on a trajectory similar to Italy or even Spain, PM Jacinda Ardern explained in today’s media briefing, with 10,000 infections projected by now. New modelling by Te Pūnaha Matatini shows current controls have worked, she says, and we’re on track to meet the most optimistic scenario – elimination. But “we have to stay the course”.
As it moves towards the possibility of transitioning out of lockdown (Cabinet will make that decision on 20 April), the Government is scaling up its health response: tighter border controls and more rigorous tracing and testing. From midnight tonight, everyone who enters the country now faces a mandatory 14-day quarantine or “managed isolation” in ‘an approved government facility’.
Hawke’s Bay Covid-19 Case Numbers
| 9 April | Hastings | Napier | CHB | Wairoa | Total |
| New cases | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total cases | 11 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 35 |
| Hospitalisations | 0 | ||||
| Recovered | 1 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 9 April | New Zealand | Global |
| New cases | 29
(3,390 tested) | 85,000 |
| Total cases | 1,239
(51,165 tests) | 1.5 million |
| Hospitalisations | 14
(4 in ICU) | |
| Deaths | 1 | 88,000 |
| Recovered | 317 | 33,000 |
Source: Ministry of Health, Hawke’s Bay DHB, and John Hopkins University.