Sunday, March 29, 2020 | 11:29 AM

A national state of national emergency was declared on 25 March 2020 at 12:21pm due to COVID-19. The Bay of Plenty District Health Board, Rotorua Lakes District Health Board and Toi te Ora are leading the regional health response to COVID-19. The Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Group Emergency Coordination Centre (GECC) has been activated to assist the national and health response and to manage and coordinate the consequences of COVID-19 in the Bay of Plenty.

Read Full Messages

Get Ready

Disasters Happen! The good news is it’s easy to make sure you and the people and things you care about, are ready.

Get Ready

Stay Informed!

There are many different ways you can stay informed about what is happening before, during and after an event. Sign up for text alerts and find out more about our suite of alerting tools.

Stay Informed

COVID-19 Response

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND THE LATEST PUBLIC UPDATES AND ADVICE PLEASE VISIT WWW.COVID19.GOVT.NZ

As at 11.59pm Wednesday 25th March 2020 New Zealand is in a Level 4 lock-down to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.

This means New Zealanders not working in essential services must stay at home and stop all interactions with others outside of your household.

Eradicating the disease is vital to protect people’s health and ensure our health system can cope and look after New Zealanders who become sick. For more information on what this mean for you, read below.

You may go for a walk or exercise and enjoy nature, but keep a 2 metre distance from people at all times. You can take your children outside.
Food will always be available – production will continue, distribution will continue, supermarkets will continue. You will always have access to food. You do not need to panic buy.
Medicines will always be available.
Healthcare for those that need it will be available
Your usual financial support, like benefits, will continue as normal.

Remember, whatever you do must be solitary. We're asking that you only spend time with those who you are in self-isolation with, and keep your distance from all others at all times. Further guidelines are available here>>.

We need your support to protect New Zealand and eradicate COVID-19. Enforcement measures may be used to ensure everyone acts together, now.

Bay of Plenty call centre for assistance with essential goods and services

To access essential food and medications please use your network of friends, family and neighbours who can help you at this time.

If you are unable to obtain essential food and medication through these networks you can make contact with our Bay of Plenty call centre on 0800 884 222 between 7am and 7pm.

We can support households who are facing hardship and need help with access to essentials such as food and medication, particularly for vulnerable, disabled or at risk groups and people without access to their own transport.