Covid-19: 167 new Hawke's Bay cases
Hawke's Bay has 167 new Covid-19 cases today, and 11 in hospital.
The Ministry of Health says the region's cases are among 6636 nationwide.
There are 480 people in hospital with the virus, including 12 in intensive care. A further seven people have died with the virus.
A second person who has travelled from overseas to New Zealand has been confirmed as having the BA.4 variant of Omicron.
Both identified cases are currently isolating in their homes.
BA.4 has been reported in southern Africa and Europe, and in New South Wales.
"The arrival of this sub-variant in New Zealand is not unexpected," the MoH said in a statement.
"At this stage, the public health settings already in place to manage other Omicron variants are assessed to be appropriate for managing BA.4 and no changes are required."
