There are 2846 Covid-19 cases in the community today and 143 people in hospital with the virus, the Ministry of Health reports.
Photo: 123RF
In a statement, the ministry said one of the people in hospital was in intensive care or a high dependency unit.
The average age of the current hospitalisations is 56.
Of the new cases today, 36 were in Northland, 1802 in Auckland, 285 in Waikato, 86 in Bay of Plenty, 19 in Lakes, 25 in Hawke’s Bay, 25 in MidCentral, 19 in Whanganui, 26 in Taranaki, 17 in Tairāwhiti, two in Wairarapa, 84 in Capital and Coast, 25 in Hutt Valley, 77 in Nelson Marlborough, 105 in Canterbury, four in South Canterbury and 206 in the Southern DHB.
There were also 15 new cases at the border.
On vaccinations, 471 first doses were administered yesterday, 981 second doses, 66 third primary doses, 1273 paediatric doses, and 27,770 booster doses.
“With Omicron spreading rapidly in New Zealand, it is important everyone who is eligible gets a booster dose, which greatly reduces your chances of getting severely ill and requiring hospital care if you test positive for Covid-19,” the ministry said.
On testing, it said there were 24,351 tests processed in the last 24 hours.
The ministry said it continued to stress the importance of the right people being tested for the right reasons.
“Over the last week, a significant number of concerned people who don’t need a test are going to get a test – those are people who don’t have any Covid-19 symptoms and are not a contact of a case.
“People should only get tested if they have cold or flu symptoms, have been identified as a close contact of a case, or have been asked to get tested by a health official.”
Today’s announcement coincides with news that two Auckland hospitals have called off large numbers of planned operations as nursing numbers drop and Covid-19 cases rise.
The decision was made at a high-level meeting yesterday, with the situation expected to continue for four weeks, RNZ reported.
Hundreds of people will miss out on operations or procedures at Greenlane Hospital and Auckland City Hospital.
Yesterday the ministry reported 2365 new community cases, two Covid-19 related deaths and 116 people in hospital with one person in intensive care or a high dependency unit.
On Sunday, New Zealand’s daily Covid-19 numbers surpassed the 2000 mark for the first time, with 2522 new community cases reported.
