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National | Ministry of Health

16 new community cases; no new Omicron community cases

The Ministry of Health has reported 16 new community cases of Covid-19, none of which have been close contacts of the MIQ worker confirmed yesterday to have the Omicron variant.

As reported yesterday, all seven household contacts of the MIQ worker have returned one negative test. These contacts remain in isolation and will be tested further. Of the case’s 67 close contacts identified, 43 have already returned negative test results.

The five close contacts previously identified in Taupō, who have all returned negative day five test results, have now been transferred to a MIQ facility in Waikato.

Auckland Regional Public Health continues to work with MIQ staff to look for any possible routes of transmission between returnees at the Stamford Plaza and aMIQ worker. Additional testing is being arranged for MIQ staff at this facility.

Additional whole-genome sequencing of other positive returnee cases at the Stamford Plaza is also being done to provide further information for the source investigation.

New case info

Of the new community cases, seven are in Auckland, six in Lakes District and one each in Wairarapa, Hawke's Bay, and West Coast regions. The Hawke's Bay case was reported yesterday and officially added to today's tally while the West Coast case is deemed historical after being investigated, the ministry says.

Three of the Lakes cases are linked to previously reported cases with the remaining three under investigation. All cases are at home isolating or in managed accommodation.

The Wairarapa case is in South Wairarapa, a contact of previously reported cases and was already isolating when they tested positive. The Greater Wellington region has 13 active cases, including five in Wellington, three in the Hutt Valley and five in Wairarapa.

Health and welfare providers are now supporting 841 people in the region to isolate at home, including 190 cases, in Auckland.

Some 42 cases have been detected at the border, in managed isolation and quarantine.

Meanwhile, 30 people are receiving hospital-level care for Covid-19. Six are in North Shore, 13 in Auckland, 10 in Middlemore and one in Tauranga hospitals. Two people are in intensive care, with one each in Middlemore and Tauranga hospitals.

For eligible Māori, 506,403 (89%) have received their first dose and 475,726 (83%) Māori are now fully vaccinated.

Yesterday 563 first doses, 1,088 second doses, 71 third primary doses and 9,635 booster doses were administered. To date, 3,989,422 first doses, 3,896,820 second doses, 35,552 third primary doses and 75,839 booster doses have been administered.