Today we are reporting 5,285 community cases, 300 current hospitalisations, and 12 deaths.

The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers today is 4,817 – last Thursday it was 5,451.

Impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection
The rate of hospitalisations due to Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) has been increasing for the last six weeks and is higher than previous years for this time of year, with approximately nine hospitalisations per 100,000 people. ESR advise that it is too early in the season to tell whether the current levels of hospitalisations indicate an early start to the season or the start of a season with particularly high activity.

Among the hospitalised SARI cases in Auckland where detailed data is available, influenza is the most commonly detected virus in the week ending 19 June.

The Ministry of Health would like to remind people who haven't yet had their flu vaccine this year to get vaccinated as soon as they can.

The World Health Organization (WHO) case definition of severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) is anyone with an acute respiratory infection with symptoms within 10 days of presentation, cough, fever, and hospitalization.

COVID-19 deaths
Today 31 previously reported deaths have been re- classified as unrelated to COVID-19.

These deaths occurred more than 28 days after these people were reported as COVID-19 cases and were initially thought to be COVID-19 related, however their formal cause of death classification has been deemed as unrelated to COVID-19.

Therefore, our new total of publicly reported COVID-19 deaths is 1,431.

Today we are sadly reporting the deaths of 12 people with COVID-19. All of these deaths occurred since 17 June.

The seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 12.

Of the people whose deaths we are reporting today; four were from Northland, one was from the Auckland region, one was from Bay of Plenty, two were from Taranaki, one was from MidCentral, one was from the Wellington region, one was from Canterbury, and one was from Southern.

Two people were in their 50s, seven were in their 80s and three were aged over 90. Of these people, seven were male and five were female.

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 deaths.

Matariki weekend reminder
The long weekend is always an ideal time 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, 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.

Next Update
On the Matariki public holiday tomorrow there will be no update. There will be the usual 1pm updates published over the long weekend on Saturday and Sunday, and Saturday’s update will include the figures for Friday.

Vaccinations administered in New Zealand
Vaccines administered to date: 4,028,293 first doses; 3,980,528 second doses; 32,919 third primary doses; 2,676,744 booster doses: 263,901 paediatric first doses and 131,163 paediatric second doses
Vaccines administered yesterday: 40 first doses; 41 second doses; 50 third primary doses; 971 booster doses; 34 paediatric first doses and 258 paediatric second doses
People vaccinated
All ethnicities (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 4,054,268 first dose (96.3%); 4,005,771 second dose (95.2%), 2,653,896 boosted (of the 18+ population) (72.9% of those eligible)
Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 521,682 first dose (91.4%); 504,965 second dose (88.4%), 239,457 boosted (of the 18+ population) (55.9% of those eligible)
Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 282,301 first dose (98.5%); 277,545 second dose (96.8%), 144,067 boosted (of the 18+ population) (59.8% of those eligible)
16 to 17 year old booster uptake (all ethnicities): 12,621 boosted (12.7% of those eligible)
16 to 17 year old booster uptake (Māori): 1,193 boosted (6.1% of those eligible)
16 to 17 year old booster uptake (Pacific Peoples): 738 boosted (7.3% of those eligible)
5 to 11-year-olds all ethnicities: 260,438 first dose (54.7%); 127,697 second dose (26.8%)
5 to 11-year-olds - Māori: 41,126 first dose (35.6%); 14,944 second dose (12.9%)
5 to 11-year-olds - Pacific Peoples: 23,812 first dose (48.2%); 8,169 second dose (16.5%)
Note that the number for “People vaccinated” differs slightly from “Vaccines administered” as it includes those that have been vaccinated overseas.

Hospitalisations
Cases in hospital: total number 300: Northland: 9; Waitematā: 44; Counties Manukau: 30; Auckland: 51; Waikato: 21; Bay of Plenty: 8; Lakes: 2; Tairāwhiti: 2; Hawke’s Bay: 5; Taranaki: 11; Whanganui: 2; MidCentral: 22; Wairarapa: 1; Hutt Valley: 12; Capital and Coast: 17; Nelson Marlborough: 5; Canterbury: 36; South Canterbury: 3; West Coast: 0; Southern: 19.
Average age of current hospitalisations: 61
Cases in ICU or HDU: 5
*Vaccination status of new admissions to hospital: Unvaccinated or not eligible (41 cases / 16%); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (1 case / 0.4%); double vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (47 cases / 18%); Received booster at least 7 days before being reported as a case (171 cases / 66%).
*Please note: We are now using data from DHBs with tertiary hospitals. These are Auckland, Canterbury, Southern, Counties Manukau, Waikato, Capital & Coast, Waitemata and Northland. Previously we only used the vaccination status of patients in Northern Region hospitals.