There were 21,338 total vaccine doses administered yesterday, including 1,413 first doses and 7,135 second doses. To date, 95% of eligible people in New Zealand have had their first dose (partially vaccinated) and 91% are double-dosed (fully vaccinated).
Hawke’s Bay and Waikato DHBs are inching closer to the 90% fully vaccinated milestone.
Hawkes Bay DHB has just 415 second doses to go and Waikato has just 1,436 second doses to go. This will soon mean 13 DHBs in total are fully vaccinated to 90 percent or higher.
No one wants to get COVID-19 (or any other illness) for Christmas, so we’re asking everyone to play their part to reduce the spread of the virus.
Anyone with any symptoms that could be COVID-19, is asked to get a test, and stay at home until they receive a negative result and are feeling better.
Testing locations nationwide can be found on the Healthpoint website.
People who are out and about today are asked to wear a mask and maintain physical distance in crowded or poorly ventilated indoor spaces and scan in using the COVID-19 Tracer app.
The vaccine remains our key defence against all variants of COVID-19, including Omicron. We continue to ask everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated, including people who are now eligible for a booster dose.
Today, we are reporting new community cases in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Lakes, and Canterbury.
Sadly, today we are reporting the death of a patient with COVID-19 at North Shore Hospital.
The patient, who was in their 50s, was admitted to hospital on 11 December.
Our thoughts are with their whānau and friends at this sad time.
Today, there are 37 new cases being reported in Auckland.
Health and welfare providers are now supporting 2,152 people to isolate at home, including 579 cases.
There are five new cases being reported in Waikato today, all in Te Kūiti.
All new cases are known contacts of previous cases.
There are seven pop-up and dedicated testing sites operating throughout Waikato today with sites in Hamilton, Te Kūiti, Huntly, Ngāruawāhia, Thames, and Ōtorohanga.
For a full list of testing sites, see the Waikato DHB website.
There are 14 new cases being reported in the Western Bay of Plenty today.
Following initial investigations, seven cases have been linked to existing cases. Interviews with the remaining cases to determine any possible connections are ongoing.
Contacts are being identified and will be called and given testing and isolation advice.
There are five news cases being reported in the Lakes district today. All are in or near Rotorua.
Following initial investigations, three cases have been linked to existing cases.
There is one new case to report in Christchurch today.
Public health officials are investigating recent travel to Auckland as the source of their infection.
The case travelled from Auckland to Christchurch on Monday 20 December on Air NZ Flight NZ543.
All passengers on the flight are being treated as close contacts and are required to get tested. Contact tracing is underway to contact all passengers.
Over the Christmas break there will be regular COVID-19 updates published and tweeted each day apart from: