Covid-related toll rises to 20 in Bay

The death toll from Covid-related illnesses in Hawke’s Bay has now reached 20.

As of yesterday, the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board had 1614 cases of Covid registered in the Bay.

Some 35,915 people have recovered from the illness in the region, and 20 people have died.

Hawke’s Bay’s “elegible vaccination population” is 145,571, of which 95.7 per cent are fully vaccinated.

However, only 71 per cent of the population have had booster shots.

Just over 25 per cent of the eligible population have caught Covid.

The Ministry of Health says the fatal cases reported include all cases who died within 28 days of being reported as having Covid 19.

“In some of these cases the underlying cause of death may have been unrelated to Covid-19,” the ministry says.