More than 1 million booster doses have now been administered – 57% of those who are due.

Boosters lower your chances of COVID-19, including the Omicron variant, making you very sick and being hospitalised, and help to slow the spread of the virus. If you’re 18 or older and it’s been 4 months since your second vaccine dose, get your booster as soon as you can. Book your booster or find a walk-in vaccination centre at BookMyVaccine.nz.

More than 100,000 5-to-11-year-olds have now either had or are booked to have their first dose of the paediatric vaccine, about 23 per cent of the age group. The Ministry of Health recommends vaccinating tamariki to keep them safe and help protect whānau and communities from COVID-19. Parents and caregivers to find out more on the Unite Against COVID-19 website.

The COVID-19 vaccine remains New Zealand’s key defence against all variants of the virus, including Omicron.

Omicron update

Public health officials are continuing to manage Omicron cases in the community through rapidly isolating cases and contacts, contact tracing, and testing in order to slow the spread.

To date, there are 19 community cases of COVID-19 associated with the January Omicron Cluster, all are in isolation.

Of these cases, today we are reporting eight – two are in the Nelson/Tasman region and are contacts of existing cases, five cases are in Auckland linked to one of the reported family events, and there is an additional case in Palmerston North, a household contact who was already isolating and linked to the previously reported Palmerston North Omicron case.

The number of cases and contacts are expected to grow given the highly transmissible nature of Omicron and as we learn more from case interviews.

As part of our collective preparations for Omicron, please check your details are up to date with your regular healthcare provider and in the COVID-19 Tracer app.

We also continue to urge anyone with symptoms, or anyone who has been to a location of interest at the times notified, to isolate immediately and get tested promptly.

Whole genome sequencing

With the evolving international data on Omicron and new community cases of the variant, we have recently amended the prioritisation of whole genome sequencing on positive cases of COVID-19.

As Omicron is potentially now transmitting in the New Zealand community, we are prioritising whole genome sequencing for any unlinked positive cases of COVID-19 in the community. This new approach will help to detect any cases of Omicron as quickly as possible, establish any links to existing cases, and slow the spread of the virus. These samples will be treated as urgent and tested within 12-24 hours of being received by the laboratory.

Furthermore, as we are now assuming all recent arrivals who test positive have the Omicron variant, we will also prioritise whole genome sequencing for any positive cases of COVID-19 in border-related workers and their families.

Previously we prioritised whole genome sequencing for cases of COVID-19 in international arrivals. Samples from international arrivals will still be analysed as part of routine sequencing.

Locations of interest

Further locations of interest have been identified across Auckland and the Nelson Tasman region and these will be published on the Ministry’s website as they are confirmed. We are encouraging everyone in these regions to check the locations of interest and follow the public health advice.

There will be people from outside of these regions who may have visited those locations at the same time period, so it is important for anyone who has been in these locations over the past week to check the website and see if they are included in that time the case was there.

It is also a timely reminder to all potential close contacts of a case to either call Healthline on 0800 358 5453 or record their visit online to a location of interest and follow advice from a health professional, as this is advice is specific to an individual and the exposure event.

There is a Section 70 notice in place that puts a legal requirement on all people who were at locations of interest at the relevant times to follow the instructions regarding isolation and testing. Failure to comply can result in a fine of up to $4,000 or imprisonment for up to six months.

Testing

We continue to urge anyone with symptoms, or anyone who has been to a location of interest at the times notified, to isolate immediately and get tested promptly.

At this stage, we are doing what we have already successfully done with Delta to slow the spread of the virus.

• If you are unwell, stay home and get a test – at the moment, that is the same PCR test with a nasopharygeal swab that we have used successfully over the last two years
• If you are required to isolate, you will receive advice and – if needed – support to do so; at this stage you will need to isolate for 14 days if you are a case, and 10 days if you are a close contact.

All DHBs are ensuring there is good access to testing across the regions. Public health officials are closely monitoring the situation and ensuring additional testing capacity is available, if needed.

All testing locations nationwide are available at Healthpoint.co.nz.

COVID-19 vaccine update

• Vaccines administered to date (percentage of eligible people): first doses 3,996,350 (95%); 3,911,109 second doses (93%); 36,646 third primary doses; 996,196 booster doses
• Vaccines administered yesterday: 527 first doses; 852 second doses; 63 third primary doses, 6,399 paediatric doses; 21,318 booster doses.
• Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 509,257 first doses (89%); 480,606 second doses (84%).
• Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 12+):  275,696 first doses (96%); 267,076 second doses (93%).
• Paediatric vaccines administer to date (percentage of 5-11-year olds): 80,545 first doses (17%)

Vaccination rates by DHB with active cases (percentage of eligible people)

• Northland DHB: First doses (89%); second doses (86%)
• Auckland Metro DHBs: First doses (97%); second doses (95%)
• Waikato DHB: First doses (94%); second doses (92%)
• Bay of Plenty DHB: First doses (94%); second doses (92%)
• Lakes DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (90%)
• Hawke’s Bay: First doses (96%); second doses (93%)
• MidCentral DHB: First doses (96%); second doses (94%)
• Wairarapa DHB: First doses (96%); second doses (94%)
• Capital and Coast DHB: First doses (98%); second doses (97%)
• Hutt Valley DHB: First doses (96%); second doses (95%)
• Nelson Marlborough DHB: First doses (96%); second doses (94%)
• Canterbury DHB: First doses (99%); second doses (97%)

Hospitalisations

• Cases in hospital: 10; North Shore: 5; Auckland: 2; Middlemore: 1, Rotorua: 1, Northland: 1
• Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region wards only): Unvaccinated or not eligible (2 cases / 25%); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (0 case / 0%); fully vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (5 cases / 62%); unknown (1 case / 12%).
• Average age of current hospitalisations: 57
• Cases in ICU or HDU: 0

Cases

• Seven day rolling average of community cases: 27
• Seven day rolling average of border cases: 43
• Number of new community cases: 25
• Number of new cases identified at the border: 50
• Location of new community cases: Northland (4), Auckland (13), Waikato (4), Lakes (1), MidCentral (1)*, Nelson Tasman(2)*
• Number of community cases (total): 11,515 (in current community outbreak)
• Cases epidemiologically linked (total): 8,762
• Number of active cases (total): 467 (cases identified in the past 21 days and not yet classified as recovered)
• Confirmed cases (total): 15,250

Contacts

• Number of active contacts being managed (total): 5,160
• Percentage who has received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements): 79%
• Percentage who has returned at least one result: 77%

Tests

• Number of tests total (last 24 hours): 10,061
• Tests rolling average (last 7 days): 13,607
• Auckland tests total (last 24 hours): 4,640

Wastewater

No unexpected results.

NZ COVID Tracer

• Poster scans in the 24 hours to midday yesterday: 2,154,648
• Manual diary entries in the 24 hours to midday: 43,025

My Vaccine Pass

• My vaccine pass downloads total: 4,893,535
• My vaccine pass downloads (last 24 hours): 11,609