Today we are reporting 10,710 community cases and 554 current hospitalisations.
The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers today is 8,013.
We are sadly reporting the deaths of 15 people with COVID-19. These deaths occurred in the period since 28 June.
Today’s new cases of COVID-19 show the recent rise in case numbers remains steady. We are continuing to keep our response to the current community outbreak of COVID-19 under review and will adapt it as the outbreak and pandemic evolve, and as part of our resurgence planning.
With the school holidays starting on Friday many people will have plans to get away and relax with whānau and friends – if you are going away, please remember to have plans in place in the event you contract COVID-19 or are identified as a household contact of a case.
You would need to self-isolate and likely remain wherever you test positive or become a household contact, so there may be extra costs involved in paying for additional accommodation and changing your travel plans.
If you have used your own vehicle to travel, you can travel back to your home to isolate (providing you are well enough to drive), taking public health measures to ensure you don’t infect anyone on your way home – such as maintaining social distance (distancing yourself from others), wearing your mask correctly, making sure you keep your hands clean and dry and using self-service petrol stations if you need to refuel your vehicle.
However, if you have used public transport or travelled between islands, you won’t be able to travel to isolate at your home. So, it is important you have a plan and the ability to isolate where you are holidaying if you need to do so.
As with all variants of Omicron, the public health advice remains the same. Getting your booster remains one of the best defences against COVID-19. Stay home if you’re unwell, get tested if you’re symptomatic, wash and dry your hands, cover coughs and sneezes, wear a mask in crowded or poorly ventilated indoor public settings and get vaccinated.
For guidance if you or someone you know tests positive or becomes a household contact, visit the Ministry of Health website.
For more information on mask use at Orange, visit the Unite Against COVID-19 website
(This update is provided each Thursday)
*These are new hospital admissions in the past 7 days prior to yesterday who had COVID at the time of admission or while in hospital, excluding hospitalisations that were admitted and discharged within 24hrs. This data is from Districts with tertiary hospitals: Auckland, Canterbury, Southern, Counties Manukau, Waikato, Capital & Coast, Waitemata and Northland.
Please note, the Ministry of Health’s daily reported cases may differ slightly from those reported at a District or local public health service level. This is because of different reporting cut off times and the assignment of cases between regions, for example when a case is tested outside their usual region of residence. Total numbers will always be the formal daily case tally as reported to the WHO.
Today’s reported deaths take the total number of publicly reported deaths with COVID-19 to 1,619 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 14.
Of the people whose deaths we are reporting today: four were from Auckland region, five were from the Wellington region, two were from Nelson / Marlborough and four were from Canterbury / West Coast.
Three were in their seventies, nine were in their 80s, and three were aged over 90. Of these people, five were women and ten were men.
This is a very sad time for whānau and friends and our thoughts and condolences are with them. Out of respect, we will be making no further comment on these.