There are 3297 new cases in the New Zealand community today, including 176 in Canterbury and seven in South Canterbury, the Ministry of Health said.
The first case at Lyttelton Port was confirmed on Wednesday morning via a PCR test before the company confirmed the second case.
The positive cases work at the Lyttelton container terminal. LPC has no plans to close the terminal.
"While the health, safety and well-being of our staff remains our priority, LPC understands our role in Canterbury’s supply chain and it is vital that we remain open and operational," said LPC acting chief executive Kirstie Gardener.
The positive cases will not effect vessels coming into the port and no ships will be diverted elsewhere, Gardener said.
"We have health and safety processes in place for staff that board vessels with berthed in Lyttelton."
LPC staff are considered critical workers and, under phase two of the red traffic light setting, will be able to return to work through the rapid antigen testing process.
Gardener said all close contacts are being identified and tested. If they come back negative, the employees can return to work.
Close contacts who are asymptomatic will then have to complete a test before each shift for the next seven days.
"We have worked to separate workforces to help reduce the spread across operational staff," said Gardener.
"Our teams also have minimal contact with port users to further reduce the risk of spread."
Today's other new community cases are in Northland (40), Auckland (1,729), Waikato (297), Bay of Plenty (157), Lakes (54), Hawke’s Bay (18), MidCentral (56), Whanganui (5), Taranaki (30), Tairāwhiti (16), Wairarapa (16), Capital and Coast (123), Hutt Valley (28), Nelson Marlborough (85), Southern (455), and West Coast (3).
There are eight new cases at the border. The updated figures come amid a warning from health authorities that Otago and Southland could have as many as 1200 Covid-19 cases, and many more to come.
There are 179 people in hospital with Covid-19. Two cases are in Canterbury hospitals with the rest in North Shore 33; Middlemore 68; Auckland 58; Tauranga 4; Lakes 3; Waikato 8; Hutt Valley 2; and Capital and Coast 1.
One person in intensive care or a high-dependency unit.
Worried well still getting tested
With Covid-19 spreading rapidly, the Ministry today said "a significant number" of concerned people who don’t need a test are continuing to turn up at testing centres. These people don't have symptoms and aren't a contact of a case.
It stressed the importance of the right people being tested for the right reasons.
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.
Meanwhile, Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) will be used as the primary test at Auckland community testing centres (CTCs) from today to help meet demand for testing as the Omicron outbreak grows.
The move, which is part of the Ministry of Health’s planned testing strategy, follows RATs being rolled out to centres in Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and Southern yesterday to be used in conjunction with PCR tests in those centres.
RATS will be rolled out to CTCs at other centres across the country this week. The site will determine which test is best.
There are 6.9 million Rapid Antigen Tests available in New Zealand as of Wednesday afternoon.
2.2 million now boosted
More than 2.2 million New Zealanders have got their booster shot so far.
The Ministry said a high rate of booster doses across the country will lower the number of people becoming severely ill from the highly transmissible Omicron variant of Covid and ensure there's capacity in the health system for anyone who needs care.
There were 25,367 booster doses administered yesterday. People are eligible for a booster dose if it has been more than three months since their second dose.
-Additional reporting ODT Online
