There were 23,016 total vaccine doses administered yesterday, including 1,578 first doses and 7,258 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).
Eleven DHBs are now fully vaccinated to 90% or higher, with Hawke’s Bay and Waikato next in line on 89%, with 823 and 2,147 doses left to go respectively before reaching this milestone.
People should stick to the basics to reduce the risk of catching and spreading COVID-19 over the Christmas and New Year break.
That means wearing a mask or face covering and physical distancing in crowded or unventilated spaces and scanning in using the COVID-19 Tracer app or keeping a manual diary.
As always, people who have any symptoms that could be COVID-19 are asked to get a test and stay at home until they receive a negative result.
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.
Testing and vaccination centre locations nationwide can be found on the Healthpoint website.
*Please note, the Tairāwhiti’s case was tested, and is currently located, in the Tauranga area. This case has been officially transferred to Tairāwhiti’s case numbers as they have a permanent Tairāwhiti address.
**A case in Auckland reported as ‘under investigation’ since the end of November has now been confirmed a case and is reflected in the overall confirmed case numbers to date.
Following the detection of COVID-19 in samples collected from Napier on 15, 19 and 20 December, the virus was not detected in a sample collected on 21 December.
A follow up sample has been collected for analysis.
The recent wastewater detections in the area may be due to undetected community transmission or a recently recovered case returning to the region shedding the virus, but is no longer infectious.
Anyone who has symptoms – no matter how mild – is asked to get tested, even if they are vaccinated - and stay home until they return a negative test result. For all testing locations, please visit the Healthpoint website.
There are no other new, unexpected wastewater results to report.
Today, we are reporting new community cases in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Lakes, Taranaki, and Tairāwhiti.
Please note, the Tairāwhiti’s case was tested, and is currently located, in the Tauranga area. This case has been officially transferred to Tairāwhiti’s case numbers as they have a permanent Tairāwhiti address.
We are continuing to ask anyone in New Zealand with symptoms – no matter how mild – to get tested, even if you’re vaccinated. Please stay at home until you return a negative test result.
Testing and vaccination centre locations nationwide can be found on the Healthpoint website.
Today, there are 42 new cases being reported in Auckland.
Health and welfare providers are now supporting 1,831 people to isolate at home, including 583 cases.
There are four new cases being reported in Waikato today; two in Te Kūiti, one in Ōtorohanga, and one case with location information yet to be confirmed.
There are 10 pop-up and dedicated testing sites operating throughout Waikato today with sites in Hamilton, Te Kūiti, Tokoroa, Putāruru, Taumarunui, Huntly, Ngāruawāhia, and Ōtorohanga.
Health and welfare providers are supporting 61 cases to isolate at home
For a full list of testing sites, see the Waikato DHB website.
There are six new cases being reported in the Bay of Plenty today. Of those, one is in in the Eastern Bay of Plenty and five are in the Western Bay of Plenty.
Following initial investigations, three cases are deemed linked to existing cases. Interviews with the remaining cases to determine any possible connections are ongoing.
Additionally, we are also reporting a case that was tested and is currently located in the Tauranga area. This case has been officially transferred to Tairāwhiti’s case numbers as they have a permanent Tairāwhiti address.
Contacts are being identified and will be called and given testing and isolation advice.
There are two news cases being reported in the Lakes district today, both are in Rotorua and are household contacts of existing cases.
Today there is one new case being reported in Taranaki, linked to the Eltham cluster. It is understood this case has been self-isolating during their infectious period.
Over the Christmas break there will be regular COVID-19 updates published and tweeted each day apart from: