There are 98 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today, with cases in Auckland, Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay, Nelson Tasman and Canterbury.
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In a statement, the Ministry of Health said there were 73 cases in hospital, including seven people in intensive care.
Today’s cases include three in Northland, 64 in Auckland, 21 in Waikato, six in the Bay of Plenty, one in Mangakino, two in Hawke’s Bay and one in Nelson Marlborough.
The three cases in Northland are all in Kaitaia and all are household contacts of a previously reported case.
Waikato’s 21 new cases include four previously reported Taranaki cases who were tested there, but normally reside in the Waikato, and have been reclassified as Waikato cases.
The six new cases in the Bay of Plenty today are in the Western Bay of Plenty and are contacts of existing cases.
The one case in Nelson-Tasman is linked to previous cases, but the Ministry said a new Canterbury case – which will be added to tomorrow’s numbers – is not yet linked to other cases in the region.
“Case interviews are underway to determine how they are linked to the outbreak and identify any contacts and exposure events.”
The Ministry said 56 of today’s new cases are yet to be linked.
There were also two cases in managed isolation today.
Yesterday the number of new community cases in New Zealand dropped to 92, the first time it was in double digits in more than a month.
There have now been 8931 cases in the current community outbreak and 12,087 cases in New Zealand since the outbreak began.
Vaccination update
There were 39,264 vaccine doses given yesterday – 7352 first doses; 17,389 second doses; 1007 third primary doses; and 13,516 booster doses.
The Ministry said the Auckland Metro DHB – including Auckland, Waitematā and Counties-Manukau – has had 90% of its Pacific population have their first vaccination, with 82 percent now fully vaccinated.
“This is closely followed by the Auckland DHBs eligible Māori population, who as of earlier today, had less than 20 doses to go before hitting 90 percent for first vaccinations. This milestone is expected to be reached later today – with 81 percent of the eligible Māori population also now fully vaccinated.”
Wastewater detection
The Ministry said the virus has been detected for the second time in a wastewater sample taken in Tairāwhiti Gisborne.
“Public health officials are not aware of any recovered cases in the region who may be shedding the virus and believe there is a strong possibility there could be an undetected case in the community.”
Anyone living in the region with any symptoms that could be Covid-19 – no matter how mild – is encouraged to get a test.
Auckland had its first day out of lockdown in almost four monthsyesterday, as the average rate of vaccinations across the city’s three DHBs reached 90 percent.
