More than 49,000 boosters given yesterday; 810 community cases; 32 in hospital

The sharp increase in new cases today is another reminder that, as expected, the highly transmissible Omicron variant is now spreading in our communities as we have seen in other countries.

Our expectation is that cases will continue to increase over the coming weeks and we’re asking people to do all they can to slow the spread of the virus and protect themselves and their whānau.

The most important step anyone can take to prepare for Omicron is to book their vaccine, whether it’s their first, second or booster. Every dose counts and lowers the chances of getting very sick and being hospitalised.

We are also continuing to remind people to do the basics well – staying home if you’re unwell, wearing a mask, physical distancing and scanning in using the NZ COVID Tracer app when you’re out and about.

Anyone with cold or flu symptoms that could be COVID-19 is asked to get a test and isolate at home until a negative result is returned.

The most common early symptoms of the Omicron variant are a sore or scratchy throat, and a runny nose. Even if you develop a small sniffle, please get a test.

The Big Boost

Thank you to the more than 214,000 New Zealanders who have so far rolled up their sleeves to get their booster shot during ‘The Big Boost’ – our national week of action where we’re making it as easy as possible to get your booster, with pop-up vaccination centres and extended opening hours.

February is a critical month to get New Zealand boosted – and we’re encouraging every New Zealander aged 18 and over who had their 2nd vaccination at least 3 months ago to get their booster as soon as possible. You can access a Pfizer booster dose in the same way as any other dose, booking online via  www.BookMyVaccine.nz visiting a walk-in or drive-thru vaccination clinic, or by calling the COVID Vaccination Healthline on 0800 28 29 26 (8am to 8pm, 7 days a week).

COVID-19 vaccine update 

• Vaccines administered to date (percentage of eligible people): 4,052,799 first doses (96%); 3,982,623 second doses (95%); 1,891,241 booster doses (59%). 
• Vaccines administered yesterday: 554 first doses; 1,147 second doses; 4,256 paediatric doses; 49,523 booster doses. 
• Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 516,079 first doses (90%); 492,377 second doses (86%). 
• Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 279,094 first doses (97%); 272,058 second doses (95%). 
• Paediatric vaccines administered to date (percentage of 5-11-year-olds): 213,517 first doses (45%) 
• Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 5-11): 29,843 first doses (26%) 
• Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 5-11): 17,592 first doses (36%) 

Vaccination rates for all DHBs (percentage of eligible people aged 12 +) 

• Northland DHB: First doses (90%); second doses (87%) 
• Auckland Metro DHBs: First doses (97%); second doses (96%) 
• Waikato DHB: First doses (95%); second doses (93%) 
• Bay of Plenty DHB: First doses (95%); second doses (93%) 
• Lakes DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (91%) 
• MidCentral DHB: First doses (97%); second doses (95%) 
• Tairāwhiti DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (90%) 
• Whanganui DHB: First doses (92%); second doses (89.9%) 
• Hawke’s Bay: First doses (97%); second doses (94%) 
• Taranaki DHB: First doses (95%); second doses (93%) 
• Wairarapa DHB: First doses (97%); second doses (95%) 
• Capital and Coast DHB: First doses (99%); second doses (98%) 
• Hutt Valley DHB: First doses (97%); second doses (95%) 
• Nelson Marlborough DHB: First doses (97%); second doses (95%) 
• West Coast DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (91%) 
• Canterbury DHB: First doses (99%); second doses (98%) 
• South Canterbury DHB: First doses (95%); second doses (94%) 
• Southern DHB: First doses (98%); second doses (96%) 

Hospitalisations

• Cases in hospital: Total Number 32 (30 of whom have active infections): Whangārei: 1; North Shore: 4; Middlemore: 8; Auckland: 15; Tauranga: 1; Rotorua: 1, Wellington 1, Christchurch: 1. 
• Average age of current hospitalisations: 62
• Cases in ICU or HDU: 0
• Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region only, excluding Emergency Departments): Unvaccinated or not eligible (3 cases / 12%); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (1 case / 4%); fully vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (10 cases / 40%); unknown (11 cases / 44%).

Cases 

• Seven day rolling average of community cases: 432
• Seven day rolling average of border cases: 25
• Number of new community cases: 810 
• Location of new community cases*: Northland (13), Auckland (623), Waikato (81), Bay of Plenty (11), Lakes (11), Hawke’s Bay (8), MidCentral (3), Whanganui (6), Taranaki (5), Tairawhiti (3), Wellington (15), Hutt Valley (10), Nelson Marlborough (2), Canterbury (3), South Canterbury (2), Southern (14).
• Number of new cases identified at the border: 18 (five of which are historical)
• Location of origin of border cases: Albania (1), Sri Lanka (1), Germany (1), United Arab Emirates (1), Singapore (2), Philippines (2), Australia (1), Iran (4).
• Number of active community cases (total): 4,072 (cases identified in the past 21 days and not yet classified as recovered) 
• Confirmed cases (total): 20,228

* Please note, the Ministry of Health’s daily reported cases may differ slightly from those reported at a DHB or local public health unit 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.

Tests

• Number of tests total (last 24 hours): 22,196
• Tests rolling average (last 7 days): 20,056
• Number of Rapid Antigen Tests in New Zealand: 7.0 million (Please note that this number is not updated over the weekend and reflects the number of tests as of Friday.)

Updates of note

Wellington protest

There are a number of rumours circulating about possible cases of COVID-19 linked to the protest at Parliament Grounds in Wellington.

Wellington’s Regional Public Health Unit has confirmed that there are currently no notified positive cases linked to the protest. However, we encourage everyone to be vigilant and to get a test if they become unwell with symptoms of COVID-19.

For details of testing centres operating in the Wellington region, please visit Healthpoint.

Ministry of Health website

Please be aware that the case details on the Ministry’s website will not be updated today. They will instead be included in the 1pm web update tomorrow which will cover the previous 48 hours.