The Ministry of Health is reporting 23,894 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand. Of these, 1691 new cases are in Bay of Plenty and 660 in Lakes.

There are 756 people in hospital, with 25 in hospital in the Bay of Plenty and seven in hospital in the Lakes District Health Board region. There are 16 people in ICU.

Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay has been addressing the media providing an update on New Zealand's response to the Omicron outbreak and says the number of people in hospital will grow.

Of the 23,894 new community cases, there are 718 in Northland, 9881 in Auckland, 2146 in Waikato, 1691 in Bay of Plenty, 660 in Lakes, 707 in Hawke's Bay, 632 in MidCentral, 166 in Whanganui, 525 in Taranaki, 366 in Tairāwhiti, 136 in Wairarapa, 1787 in Capital and Coast, 1061 in Hutt Valley, 435 in Nelson Marlborough, 1903 in Canterbury, 129 in South Canterbury, 914 in Southern, 30 in West Coast, and seven unknown.

There are 19 new cases identified at the border.

Of the 757 cases in hospital, the breakdown is Northland: 8; North Shore: 146; Middlemore: 191; Auckland: 196; Waikato: 70; BOP: 25; Rotorua: 7; Hawke's Bay: 10; Taranaki: 4; MidCentral: 17; Whanganui: 3; Wairarapa: 5; Hutt Valley: 13; Capital and Coast: 33; Nelson Marlborough: 4; Canterbury: 17; Southern: 8.

'As the outbreak progresses, we are continuing to see a larger proportion of unvaccinated cases in hospital with Covid-19,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

Just three per cent of eligible people aged 12 and over in New Zealand have had no doses of the vaccine. 'However, of those aged over 12 in Northland and Auckland hospitals with Covid-19 for whom we have vaccination data recorded, 19.4 per cent have had no doses of the vaccine.”

Even early in the Omicron outbreak, the figures show that, based on the data available, unvaccinated people are significantly over-represented in the current hospitalisation data.

The numbers send a clear message: getting vaccinated will help to keep you out of hospital if you catch Covid-19 and could save your life.

Cases reported today

Today the Ministry of Health is reporting 23,894 community cases.
This is an increase from daily cases reported from Saturday to Monday, which were below 20,000.

Health officials says that care needs to be taken when interpreting daily reported cases, which are expected to fluctuate.

'We are still seeing a daily increase in Covid-19 hospitalisations and the seven-day rolling average of community cases.”

From March 1 to March 7, the seven day rolling average increased from 10,698 to 17,921, and over the same period, hospitalisations increased from 373 to 696.

'These numbers clearly show that Omicron is still spreading in our communities. We all need to continue to wear a mask, physical distance, and get tested where required to reduce the spread of the virus.”

Contributing factors to the decrease in case numbers seen in the previous few days are likely to have been either a lower level of testing, and a lower level of self-reporting of RAT test results over the weekend, or a combination of both.

'There are already a large number of people reporting their rapid test results online and we'd like to both thank them as well as continue to encourage people to self-report their RATs online (both positive and negative results) on My Covid Record – as soon as they have the test result,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

Leaving isolation

There have been some reports of people with Covid-19 undertaking rapid antigen testing in order to return a negative result so they can leave isolation.

Everyone who tests positive for Covid-19, and their household contacts, needs to isolate from the community to help slow the spread of the virus. However, the Ministry of Health says it's not necessary to then return a negative test once your isolation period is over in order to return to work or school. It's also important to note that some people may continue to test positive on a RAT for some time, even once they are past their infectious stage or have recovered.

This guidance does not extend to those household contacts covered by the Close Contact Exemption Scheme who are able to continue going to work during their isolation period so long as they return a negative test before work each day.

COVID-19 vaccine update

Vaccinations administered in New Zealand
• Vaccines administered to date: 4,021,580 first doses; 3,964,710 second doses; 34,076 third primary doses; 2,470,222 booster doses: 250,299 paediatric first doses and 5,500 paediatric second doses
• Vaccines administered yesterday: 265 first doses; 609 second doses; 41 third primary doses; 10,450 booster doses; 608 paediatric first doses and 310 paediatric second doses.

People vaccinated
• All Ethnicities (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 4,066,659 first dose (96.6%); 4,007,696 second dose (95.2%), 2,471,864 boosted (72.5% of those eligible)
• Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 520,249 first dose (91.1%); 500,662 second dose (87.7%), 214,359 boosted (59.9% of those eligible)
• Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 281,307 first dose (98.1%); 275,505 second dose (96.1%), 128,595 boosted (59.5% of those eligible)
• 5 to 11-year-olds all ethnicities: 250,133 first dose (52.5%); 5,419 second dose (1.1%)
• 5 to 11-year-olds - Māori: 38,146 first dose (33%); 907 second dose (0.8%)
• 5 to 11-year-olds - Pacific Peoples: 22,296 first dose (45.1%); 675 second dose (1.4%).
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 (90.4%); second dose (88%); boosted (70.2%)
• Auckland Metro DHB: first dose (97.4%); second dose (96.2%); boosted (70.2%)
• Waikato DHB: first dose (95.4%); second dose (93.7%); boosted (68.4%)
• Bay of Plenty DHB: first dose (95.4%); second dose (93.5%); boosted (69.2%)
• Lakes DHB: first dose (93.7%); second dose (91.6%); boosted (69.7%)
• MidCentral DHB: first dose (96.9%); second dose (95.4%); boosted (74.8%)
• Tairāwhiti DHB: first dose (93.5%); second dose (90.9%); boosted (70.1%)
• Whanganui DHB: first dose (92.5%); second dose (90.6%); boosted (74.6%)
• Hawke's Bay DHB: first dose (97.3%); second dose (95.4%); boosted (72.5%)
• Taranaki DHB: first dose (94.9%); second dose (93.3%); boosted (69.7%)
• Wairarapa DHB: first dose (96.8%); second dose (95.2%); boosted (75.8%)
• Capital & Coast DHB: first dose (98.8%); second dose (98%); boosted (80.9%)
• Hutt Valley DHB: first dose (97%); second dose (95.8%); boosted (77%)
• Nelson Marlborough DHB: first dose (96.9%); second dose (95.5%); boosted (76.4%)
• West Coast DHB: first dose (93.1%); second dose (91.3%); boosted (74.5%)
• Canterbury DHB: first dose (99.9%); second dose (98.8%); boosted (75%)
• South Canterbury DHB: first dose (95.5%); second dose (94.2%); boosted (76.3%)
• Southern DHB: first dose (98.2%); second dose (96.9%); boosted (74.9%)
*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.

Hospitalisations*
• Cases in hospital: total number 757: Northland: 8; North Shore: 146; Middlemore: 191; Auckland: 196; Waikato: 70; BOP: 25; Rotorua: 7; Hawke's Bay: 10; Taranaki: 4; MidCentral: 17; Whanganui: 3; Wairarapa: 5; Hutt Valley: 13; Capital and Coast: 33; Nelson Marlborough: 4; Canterbury: 17; Southern: 8.
• Average age of current hospitalisations: 56
• Cases in ICU or HDU: 16
• Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region only, excluding Emergency Departments): Unvaccinated or not eligible (90 cases / 18.59%); partially immunised *While still early in the Omicron outbreak, the figures show that, based on the data available, just 3% of eligible people aged 12 and over in New Zealand have had no doses of the vaccine, however, of those aged 12 and over in Northland and Auckland hospitals with COVID-19 for whom we have vaccination status recorded, 19% have had no doses of the vaccine.

Cases 
• Seven day rolling average of community cases: 18,669
• Number of new community cases: 23,894
• Number of new community cases (PCR): 596
• Number of new community cases (RAT): 23,298
• Location of new community cases (PCR & RAT): Northland (718), Auckland (9,881), Waikato (2,146), Bay of Plenty (1,691), Lakes (660), Hawke's Bay (707), MidCentral (632), Whanganui (166), Taranaki (525), Tairāwhiti (366), Wairarapa (136), Capital and Coast (1,787), Hutt Valley (1,061), Nelson Marlborough (435), Canterbury (1,903), South Canterbury (129), Southern (914), West Coast (30); Unknown (7)
• Number of new cases identified at the border: 19
• Number of active community cases (total): 192,452 (cases identified in the past 10 days and not yet classified as recovered)
• Confirmed cases (total): 263,448

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): 4,108
• PCR tests rolling average (last 7 days up to 03/03): 12,656
• Number of Rapid Antigen Tests dispatched (last 7 days): 12.2 million