There are over 1000 daily positive new cases of Covid-19 in the Bay of Plenty for the first time since the pandemic begun.

The Ministry of Health has announced 1185 cases in the region with 19,566 across the country.

There are 10 people hospitalised in the Bay of Plenty.

Across New Zealand there are 373 cases currently in hospital. Nine of these are in ICU or HDU.

The Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield is currently updating the media on New Zealand's response to the Omicron outbreak of Covid-19.

"I know that such a high daily case number can be concerning for people to hear, and many of us will now have whānau members who now have Covid-19, but it's important to remember that Covid-19 now is a very different foe to what it was at the beginning of the pandemic," says Bloomfield.

He says the high vaccination rate means for most people it will be a milder illness and can be managed safely at home.

Dr Bloomfield says PCR testing has served us incredibly well, but with thousands of cases each day we did reach the point last week where rapid antigen testing became both useful and appropriate.

He says samples were typically pooled earlier on in the outbreak, but a positive test in a batch means each will need to be retested. Higher test positivity rates now however mean it becomes less feasible.

He says prior to February 7, none of the labs had ever exceeded five per cent test positivity, but the swift increase in positive cases has affected that. Labs have also had other difficulties including vacancies in roles and sickness because some lab workers have contracted the virus.

Bloomfield says he wants to apologise to people whose tests have been delayed, but says they have committed to completing the test processing.

People are still advised to seek a test, though some people facing a longer delay should also seek a rapid antigen test, he says.

The samples affected by the backlog may be slightly less accurate - they are more likely to show a negative result - but all positive results will be accurate.

Bloomfield says some 9000 tests were sent to Queensland for testing, to help clear the backlog. He says the backlog is clearing, but anyone who had a test on 23 February or earlier, or who has developed symptoms, should collect a rapid antigen test from their local testing centre or seek advice from Healthline.

Bloomfield says test processing has got to a much more manageable level in the past 24 to 48 hours.

He says there is strong uptake of RATs for people who have symptoms, or who are household or close contacts, as well as surveillance testing at hospitals and aged care facilities.

A full breakdown of MOH figures can be found below...

Covid-19 vaccine update

Vaccinations administered in New Zealand

• Vaccines administered to date: 4,019,697 first doses; 3,960,106 second doses; 33,301 third primary doses; 2,371,552 booster doses: 241,810 paediatric first doses and 3,500 paediatric second doses
• Vaccines administered yesterday: 388 first doses; 733 second doses; 74 third primary doses; 23,465 booster doses; 1,452 paediatric first doses and 231 paediatric second doses

People vaccinated (including those vaccinated overseas)*

• All Ethnicities (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 4,063,450 first dose (96.5%); 4,002,194 second dose (95.1%), 2,373,199 boosted (70.9% of those eligible)*
• Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 519,236 first dose (90.9%); 498,691 second dose (87.3%), 201,631 boosted (59.4% of those eligible)
• Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 280,751 first dose (97.9%); 274,682 second dose (95.8%), 121,569 boosted (57.9% of those eligible)
• 5 to 11-year-olds all ethnicities: 241,707 first dose (50.7%); 3,485 second dose (0.7%)
• 5 to 11-year-olds - Māori: 35,755 first dose (30.9%); 577 second dose (0.5%)
• 5 to 11-year-olds - Pacific Peoples: 21,296 first dose (43.1%); 468 second dose (0.9%)

*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 (percentage of eligible people aged 12 +)**

• Northland DHB: first dose (90.3%); second dose (87.8%); boosted (69.1%)
• Auckland Metro DHB: first dose (97.4%); second dose (96.1%); boosted (68.1%)
• Waikato DHB: first dose (95.3%); second dose (93.5%); boosted (66.9%)
• Bay of Plenty DHB: first dose (95.3%); second dose (93.3%); boosted (68.1%)
• Lakes DHB: first dose (93.6%); second dose (91.5%); boosted (68.6%)
• MidCentral DHB: first dose (96.8%); second dose (95.2%); boosted (73.3%)
• Tairāwhiti DHB: first dose (93.5%); second dose (90.8%); boosted (69.3%)
• Whanganui DHB: first dose (92.4%); second dose (90.5%); boosted (73.4%)
• Hawke's Bay DHB: first dose (97.2%); second dose (95.2%); boosted (71.1%)
• Taranaki DHB: first dose (94.8%); second dose (93.1%); boosted (68.2%)
• Wairarapa DHB: first dose (96.8%); second dose (95%); boosted (74.9%)
• Capital & Coast DHB: first dose (98.8%); second dose (97.9%); boosted (78.8%)
• Hutt Valley DHB: first dose (96.9%); second dose (95.7%); boosted (75.3%)
• Nelson Marlborough DHB: first dose (96.8%); second dose (95.4%); boosted (76.1%)
• West Coast DHB: first dose (93.1%); second dose (91.2%); boosted (73.4%)
• Canterbury DHB: first dose (99.8%); second dose (98.7%); boosted (73.1%)
• South Canterbury DHB: first dose (95.4%); second dose (94.2%); boosted (75%)
• Southern DHB: first dose (97.9%); second dose (96.7%); boosted (74.8%)

**First and second dose percentages are for those 12+. Booster dose percentages are for 18+ who have become eligible three months after having their second dose.

Hospitalisations

• Cases in hospital: total number 373: Northland: 4; North Shore: 63; Middlemore: 134; Auckland: 115; Waikato: 23; BOP: 10; Rotorua: 3; Tairawhiti: 2; Hawke's Bay: 1; Taranaki: 1; MidCentral: 3; Hutt Valley: 5; Capital and Coast: 3; Nelson Marlborough: 1; Canterbury: 4; Southern: 1;
• Average age of current hospitalisations: 52
• Cases in ICU or HDU: 9
• Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region only, excluding Emergency Departments): Unvaccinated or not eligible (37 cases / 13.4%); partially immunised

Cases

• Seven day rolling average of community cases: 10,689
• Number of new community cases: 19,566
• Number of new community cases (PCR): 2,513
• Number of new community cases (RAT): 17,053
• Location of new community cases (PCR & RAT): Northland (329), Auckland (12,530), Waikato (1,812), Bay of Plenty (1,185), Lakes (376), Hawke's Bay (168), MidCentral (260), Whanganui (45), Taranaki (165), Tairāwhiti (88), Wairarapa (42), Capital and Coast (691), Hutt Valley (355), Nelson Marlborough (196), Canterbury (740), South Canterbury (37), Southern (529), West Coast (17); Unknown (1)
• Number of new cases identified at the border: 22
• Number of active community cases (total): 99,859 (cases identified in the past 21 days and not yet classified as recovered)
• Confirmed cases (total): 118,337

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): 16,314
• PCR tests rolling average (last 7 days): 27,072
• Number of Rapid Antigen Tests dispatched (last 7 days): 5.2 million

- Additional reporting RNZ