There are 5499 new community cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand on Wednesday, the Ministry of Health has revealed.
Another 18 COVID-19 deaths were reported, taking New Zealand's virus death toll to 1450.
There are 334 people in hospital with the virus, four of whom were in intensive care.
The health ministry urged Kiwis to take care over the long weekend.
"The long weekend is always an ideal time to get away and relax with whānau and friends - if you are going away, please remember to have plans in place in the event you contract COVID-19 or are identified as a household contact of a case," the Ministry of Health said.
"You would need to self-isolate and likely remain wherever you test positive or become a household contact, so there may be extra costs involved in paying for additional accommodation and changing your travel plans.
"If you have used your own vehicle to travel, you can travel back to your home to isolate, taking public health measures to ensure you don’t infect anyone on your way home."
The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers decreased to 4873 - last Wednesday it was 5777.
Overall, New Zealand has reported just over 1.28 million COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.
Here is the Ministry of Health's full statement:
Today we are reporting 5,499 community cases, 334 current hospitalisations, and 18 deaths.
The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers today is 4,873 – last Wednesday it was 5,777.
COVID-19 deaths
Today we are sadly reporting the deaths of 18 people with COVID-19. Fifteen deaths of the reported occurred in the past three days, and three occurred since 13 June.
Today’s reported deaths take the total number of publicly reported deaths with COVID-19 to 1,450 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 13.
Of the people whose deaths we are reporting today; three were from the Auckland region, one from Waikato, one from MidCentral, five were from the Wellington region, two were from Nelson-Marlborough, three were from Canterbury, one was from South Canterbury, and two were from Southern.
One person was in 50s, one was in their 60s, three were in their 70s, eight were in their 80s and five were aged over 90. Of these people, eight were male and 10 were female.
This is a very sad time for whānau and friends and our thoughts and condolences are with them. Out of respect, we will be making no further comment on these deaths.
Matariki weekend reminder
The long weekend is always an ideal time to get away and relax with whānau and friends – if you are going away, please remember to have plans in place in the event you contract COVID-19 or are identified as a household contact of a case.
You would need to self-isolate and likely remain wherever you test positive or become a household contact, so there may be extra costs involved in paying for additional accommodation and changing your travel plans.
If you have used your own vehicle to travel, you can travel back to your home to isolate, taking public health measures to ensure you don’t infect anyone on your way home – such as maintaining social distance (distancing yourself from others), wearing your mask correctly, making sure you keep your hands clean and dry and using self-service petrol stations if you need to refuel your vehicle.
However, if you have used public transport or travelled between islands, you won’t be able to travel to isolate at your home. So it is important you have a plan and the ability to isolate where you are holidaying if you need to do so.
As with all variants of Omicron, the public health advice remains the same. Getting your booster remains one of the best defences against COVID-19. Stay home if you’re unwell, get tested if you’re symptomatic, wash and dry your hands, cover coughs and sneezes, wear a mask in crowded or poorly ventilated indoor public settings and get vaccinated.
For guidance if you or someone you know tests positive or becomes a household contact, visit the Ministry of Health website.
For more information on mask use at Orange, visit the Unite Against COVID-19 website.
Next Update
On the Matariki public holiday on Friday there will be no update. There will be the usual 1pm updates published over the long weekend on Saturday and Sunday, and Saturday’s update will include the figures for Friday.
Vaccinations administered in New Zealand
- Vaccines administered to date: 4,028,258 first doses; 3,980,481 second doses; 32,860 third primary doses; 2,675,756 booster doses: 263,865 paediatric first doses and 130,896 paediatric second doses
- Vaccines administered yesterday: 30 first doses; 49 second doses; 38 third primary doses; 805 booster doses; 40 paediatric first doses and 272 paediatric second doses
People vaccinated
- All ethnicities (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 4,054,268 first dose (96.3%); 4,005,766 second dose (95.2%), 2,653,215 boosted (of the 18+ population) (72.8% of those eligible)
- Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 521,656 first dose (91.3%); 504,945 second dose (88.4%), 239,326 boosted (of the 18+ population) (55.9% of those eligible)
- Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 282,283 first dose (98.5%); 277,532 second dose (96.8%), 143,981 boosted (of the 18+ population) (59.8% of those eligible)
- 16 to 17 year old booster uptake (all ethnicities): 12,533 boosted (12.6% of those eligible)
- 16 to 17 year old booster uptake (Māori): 1,188 boosted (6.1% of those eligible)
- 16 to 17 year old booster uptake (Pacific Peoples): 733 boosted (7.2% of those eligible)
- 5 to 11-year-olds all ethnicities: 260,425 first dose (54.7%); 127,454 second dose (26.8%)
- 5 to 11-year-olds - Māori: 41,123 first dose (35.6%); 14,914 second dose (12.9%)
- 5 to 11-year-olds - Pacific Peoples: 23,809 first dose (48.2%); 8,142 second dose (16.5%)
Note that the number for “People vaccinated” differs slightly from “Vaccines administered” as it includes those that have been vaccinated overseas.
Vaccination rates for all DHBs
- Northland DHB: first dose (90%); second dose (88%); boosted (69%)
- Auckland DHB: first dose (99%); second dose (98.1%); boosted (75.3%)
- Counties Manukau DHB: first dose (96.2%); second dose (95%); boosted (68.4%)
- Waitemata DHB: first dose (96.5%); second dose (95.6%); boosted (73.3%)
- Waikato DHB: first dose (95%); second dose (93.6%); boosted (68.2%)
- Bay of Plenty DHB: first dose (95.1%); second dose (93.4%); boosted (67.2%)
- Lakes DHB: first dose (92.9%); second dose (91.1%); boosted (67.4%)
- MidCentral DHB: first dose (96.3%); second dose (95.1%); boosted (73.6%)
- Tairāwhiti DHB: first dose (92.7%); second dose (90.6%); boosted (67.3%)
- Whanganui DHB: first dose (91.8%); second dose (90.3%); boosted (72.6%)
- Hawke’s Bay DHB: first dose (97.4%); second dose (95.8%); boosted (71.1%)
- Taranaki DHB: first dose (94.6%); second dose (93.3%); boosted (69.4%)
- Wairarapa DHB: first dose (96.4%); second dose (95%); boosted (74.3%)
- Capital & Coast DHB: first dose (98.4%); second dose (97.8%); boosted (81.2%)
- Hutt Valley DHB: first dose (96.5%); second dose (95.5%); boosted (76.5%)
- Nelson Marlborough DHB: first dose (96.4%); second dose (95.2%); boosted (74.8%)
- West Coast DHB: first dose (92.5%); second dose (91.1%); boosted (72.3%)
- Canterbury DHB: first dose (99.8%); second dose (99%); boosted (75.9%)
- South Canterbury DHB: first dose (94.5%); second dose (93.5%); boosted (75.5%)
- Southern DHB: first dose (98.5%); second dose (97.5%); boosted (74.6%)
Partially and second doses percentages are for those 12+. Boosted percentages are for 18+ who have become eligible 3 months after having their second dose or 16 and 17 year olds who have become eligible 6 months after having their second dose.
Hospitalisations
- Cases in hospital: total number 334: Northland: 8; Waitematā: 41; Counties Manukau: 37; Auckland: 57; Waikato: 26; Bay of Plenty: 10; Lakes: 1; Tairāwhiti: 2; Hawke’s Bay: 6; Taranaki: 15; Whanganui: 3; MidCentral: 25; Wairarapa: 1; Hutt Valley: 17; Capital and Coast: 15; Nelson Marlborough: 5; Canterbury: 38; South Canterbury: 3; West Coast: 0; Southern: 24.
- Average age of current hospitalisations: 59
- Cases in ICU or HDU: 4
- *Vaccination status of new admissions to hospital: Unvaccinated or not eligible (42 cases / 17%); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (1 case / 0.4%); double vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (47 cases / 19%); Received booster at least 7 days before being reported as a case (159 cases / 64%).
*Please note: We are now using data from DHBs with tertiary hospitals. These are Auckland, Canterbury, Southern, Counties Manukau, Waikato, Capital & Coast, Waitemata and Northland. Previously we only used the vaccination status of patients in Northern Region hospitals.
Cases
- Seven day rolling average of community cases: 4,873
- Seven day rolling average (as at same day last week): 5,777
- Number of new community cases: 5,499
- Number of new community cases (PCR): 179
- Number of new community cases (RAT): 5,320
- Location of new community cases (PCR & RAT): Northland (144), Auckland (1,637), Waikato (335), Bay of Plenty (166), Lakes (81), Hawke’s Bay (150), MidCentral (129), Whanganui (53), Taranaki (144), Tairāwhiti (54), Wairarapa (56), Capital and Coast (559), Hutt Valley (252), Nelson Marlborough (258), Canterbury (896), South Canterbury (85), Southern (446), West Coast (50), Unknown (4).
- Number of new imported cases: 78
- Number of active community cases (total): 34,091 (cases identified in the past seven days and not yet classified as recovered)
- Confirmed cases (total): 1,282,212
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 PCR tests total (last 24 hours): 2,949
- Number of Rapid Antigen Tests reported total (last 24 hours): 11,791
- PCR tests rolling average (last 7 days): 2,665
- Number of Rapid Antigen Tests dispatched (last seven days as of 22 June 2022): 1.3 million
