The Ministry of Health is reporting there are 172 new community Covid cases today, all in the North Island.
The Ministry revealed the numbers in a press statement just after 1pm.
Of the new cases 148 are in Auckland, 12 are in Waikato, four are in Northland, three are in the Bay of Plenty, one is in Wellington and four are in the Lakes DHB area.
A case announced yesterday in Wellington was officially added to the total in today’s case tally.
There are no new cases to report in Canterbury.
There are now 6701 cases in the current community outbreak.
There are 70 patients with Covid-19 in hospital, five of these are in ICU or HDUs.
There were 22,608 vaccine doses administered yesterday, made up of 6833 first doses and 15,775 second doses.
To date, 91% of eligible New Zealanders have had their first dose and 83% are fully vaccinated.
In the South Island, three DHB areas are still to reach the 90% first vaccination milestone.
Nelson Marlborough DHB is 398 doses away from 90% after it administered 279 first doses yesterday.
The West Coast DHB administered 60 first doses yesterday as it slowly edges toward the goal but needs 990 more to get there.
South Canterbury looks like it will be the 10th DHB to hit 90% first vaccinations after administering 79 first doses yesterday leaving it with 262 to go.
Twenty-one residents and five staff members of Edmonton Meadows Care Home in Henderson have now returned positive tests since the start of the outbreak. Three of the residents who tested positive for Covid-19 are receiving ward-level care at Auckland hospitals.
The Ministry confirmed today repeat testing has indicated the positive case in Wellington is in the early stages of their infection.
The case is a user of the Covid-19 tracer app, which will assist with contact tracing and identifying any locations of interest. So far, one location of interest has been identified – Countdown Cable Car Lane in Wellington Central.
The positive result was picked up as part of routine surveillance testing in Wellington, for an essential worker from Auckland working in the city. Investigations have identified a small number of close contacts, including the case’s co-workers, who are currently isolating and being tested. So far, all results from this testing have come back negative.
There are three new cases being reported in the Bay of Plenty today. Two are in Tauranga and one is Mount Maunganui which is connected to an existing case. The two Tauranga cases are in the same household and investigations into the source of their infection are underway.
A further case tested positive after presenting to Tauranga Hospital emergency department late last night and will be added to official figures tomorrow.
Public health officials deem the risk from last night’s exposure event at Tauranga Hospital is low but are today carrying out further evaluations. One ward has been closed to both visitors and new patients out of an abundance of caution. Three staff members have been stood down as a precaution.
Of the four new cases in the Lakes DHB area, two are connected to the Taupo cluster, one of which is in Rotorua Hospital.
One is linked to an existing case and investigations into the other case are ongoing but potential links have already been identified.
There are four new cases being reported for Northland today. One is in Kaitaia, one is in Ruakaka and one is in Dargaville. All three of these people are close contacts of existing cases and were already in isolation.
The fourth case resides in Auckland where they are isolating.
