The Ministry of Health reports a person has died with COVID-19 at North Shore Hospital.
Their death was reported with Friday's case update, which revealed there are 62 new community cases of COVID-19. No more cases of the Omicron variant have been found in MIQ.
What you need to know:
- The Ministry of Health announced no new Omicron cases in MIQ on Friday, keeping the total in New Zealand at 28
- There were 62 new COVID-19 community cases on Friday - 37 in Auckland, five in Waikato, 14 in the Bay of Plenty, five in Lakes, and one in Canterbury
- There are 45 people in hospital, with eight in ICU or HDU
- The wait time between someone's second vaccine dose and their booster shot has been reduced from six months to four months
- The upcoming MIQ room release scheduled for Wednesday has been cancelled, the next one will be on January 6 (NZ time).
- Start of non-MIQ international travel delayed from January 17 to end of February
- Children aged between five and 11 to start receiving vaccines from January 17
These live updates have finished.
3:10pm - The Ministry of Health has announced two new locations of interest at 3pm.
Thai Central Restaurant Taupo on Sunday 19 December at 1:35pm to 3:40pm
Kaiapoi North Pharmacy Kaiapoi on Wednesday 22 December 8am to 5pm
For all the locations of interest click here.
2:45pm - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has ruled out denying or charging unvaccinated Kiwis for COVID treatment.
Ardern told Australian news outlet AAP that even if the unvaccinated dominate hospitalisations, they will still have access to health care.
"We don't treat people who make health or lifestyle choices that mean they're more likely to end up in hospital, we don't treat them differently," Ardern said.
"We still want people to give the same level of treatment and care regardless of their personal beliefs."
New Zealand is currently sitting at 94 percent of the eligible population having received a single dose of the vaccine while 91 percent are fully vaccinated.
Ardern said that some of those nine percent who aren't vaccinated have probably made their decision on information that isn't correct.
"Some people are making decisions having either been targeted or in receipt of information that's just wrong," she said.
"For those who are really working hard on vaccines and encouraging vaccines, it's because we want people to be safe and the best thing we can do is get them vaccinated.
"For those who are strongly opposed to vaccines. It's because they think that's keeping people safe. So actually, what's motivating people was not often isn't ill-will.
"I hope with time we'll come through that. I hope with time people will see the benefit of vaccines, and they'll change their minds."
2:17pm - The Ministry of Health has announced two new locations of interest at 2pm.
They are;
Tauranga Crossing Mall Tauriko on Sunday 19 December between 12:45pm - 2:30pm
Zorb Rotorua on Saturday 18 December between 3pm and 4pm
For all the locations of interest click here.
1:30pm - Church pastors around the country are usually preparing to host services for tomorrow - but this year many ministers get an unexpected day off.
Many congregations in Auckland and other parts of the country under the COVID-19 red setting will be celebrating Christmas online, watching pre-recorded services.
Windsor Park Baptist is among the city's larger churches and lead pastor Grant Harris said it's been a few decades since he clocked off work before the 25th.
"I've been a pastor for 20 years and this will be the first Christmas Day that I won't have to go out, some people have said don't get used to it, so it will be strange for sure," he said.
1:20pm - More from the Ministry of Health:
There were 21,338 total vaccine doses administered yesterday, including 1,413 first doses and 7,135 second doses. To date, 95% of eligible people in New Zealand have had their first dose (partially vaccinated) and 91% are double-dosed (fully vaccinated).
Hawke’s Bay and Waikato DHBs are inching closer to the 90% fully vaccinated milestone.
Hawkes Bay DHB has just 415 second doses to go and Waikato has just 1,436 second doses to go. This will soon mean 13 DHBs in total are fully vaccinated to 90 percent or higher.
Holiday reminder
No one wants to get COVID-19 (or any other illness) for Christmas, so we’re asking everyone to play their part to reduce the spread of the virus.
Anyone with any symptoms that could be COVID-19, is asked to get a test, and stay at home until they receive a negative result and are feeling better.
Testing locations nationwide can be found on the Healthpoint website.
People who are out and about today are asked to wear a mask and maintain physical distance in crowded or poorly ventilated indoor spaces and scan in using the COVID-19 Tracer app.
The vaccine remains our key defence against all variants of COVID-19, including Omicron. We continue to ask everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated, including people who are now eligible for a booster dose.
1:10pm - Here is the Ministry of Health's regional update:
Auckland
Today, there are 37 new cases being reported in Auckland.
Health and welfare providers are now supporting 2,152 people to isolate at home, including 579 cases.
Waikato
There are five new cases being reported in Waikato today, all in Te Kūiti.
All new cases are known contacts of previous cases.
There are seven pop-up and dedicated testing sites operating throughout Waikato today with sites in Hamilton, Te Kūiti, Huntly, Ngāruawāhia, Thames, and Ōtorohanga.
For a full list of testing sites, see the Waikato DHB website.
Bay of Plenty
There are 14 new cases being reported in the Western Bay of Plenty today.
Following initial investigations, seven cases have been linked to existing cases. Interviews with the remaining cases to determine any possible connections are ongoing.
Contacts are being identified and will be called and given testing and isolation advice.
Lakes
There are five news cases being reported in the Lakes district today. All are in or near Rotorua.
Following initial investigations, three cases have been linked to existing cases.
Canterbury
There is one new case to report in Christchurch today.
Public health officials are investigating recent travel to Auckland as the source of their infection.
The case travelled from Auckland to Christchurch on Monday 20 December on Air NZ Flight NZ543.
All passengers on the flight are being treated as close contacts and are required to get tested. Contact tracing is underway to contact all passengers.
1:05pm - There are 62 new cases of COVID-19 in the community. The Ministry of Health's latest update doesn't make mention of any new Omicron cases in MIQ. The new community cases are in Auckland (37), Waikato (5), Bay of Plenty (14), Lakes (5), and Canterbury (1).
There has been one new death. The person, in their 50s, died with COVID-19 at North Shore Hospital. They were admitted on December 11.
COVID-19 vaccine update
- Vaccines administered to date (percentage of eligible people): 3,971,055 first doses (95%); 3,830,209 second doses (91%); 27,613 third primary doses; 265,497 booster doses
- Vaccines administered yesterday: 1,413 first doses; 7,135 second doses; 662 third primary doses and 12,128 booster doses.
- Māori (percentage of eligible people): 498,945 first doses (87%); 453,526 second doses (79%)
- Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people): 269,120 first doses (94%); 255,447 second doses (89%)
Vaccination rates by DHB with active cases (percentage of eligible people)
- Northland DHB: First doses (88%); second doses (84%)
- Auckland Metro DHBs: First doses (96%); second doses (93%)
- Waikato DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (89%)
- Bay of Plenty DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (88%)
- Lakes DHB: First doses (92%); second doses (87%)
- Taranaki DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (88%)
- Hawke’s Bay DHB: First doses (94%); second doses (89%)
- Hutt Valley DHB: First doses (95%); second doses (92%)
- Nelson-Marlborough DHB: First doses (95%); second doses (91%)
- Canterbury DHB: First doses (98%); second doses (95%)
Hospitalisations
- Cases in hospital: 45; North Shore: 6; Auckland: 17; Middlemore: 18; Waikato: 2; Tauranga: 2
- Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region wards only): Unvaccinated or not eligible (24 cases / 60%); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (5 cases / 12%); fully vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (10 cases/ 25%); unknown (1 cases / 2%)
- Average age of current hospitalisations: 50
- Cases in ICU or HDU: 8 (1 in North Shore; 2 in Auckland; 4 in Middlemore; 1 in Tauranga)
Cases
- Seven day rolling average of community cases: 51.4
- Number of new community cases: 62
- Number of new cases identified at the border: 10
- Location of new community cases: Auckland (37), Waikato (5), Bay of Plenty (14), Lakes (5), Canterbury (1).
- Number of community cases (current community outbreak total): 10,493
- Cases epidemiologically linked (total): 7,818
- Number of active cases (total cases identified in the past 21 days and not yet classed as recovered): 1,491
- Confirmed cases (total): 13,349
Contacts
- Number of active contacts being managed (total): 6,448
- Percentage who have received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements): 85%
- Percentage who have returned at least one result: 79%
Tests
- Number of tests total (last 24 hours): 19,027
- Tests rolling average (last 7 days): 18,265
- Auckland tests total (last 24 hours): 11,066
Wastewater
- No unexpected detections in most recent results.
NZ COVID Tracer
- Poster scans in 24 hours to midday yesterday: 2,577,933
- Manual diary entries in 24 hours to midday: 28,983
My Vaccine Pass
- My vaccine passes issued total: 4,515,094
- My vaccine passes issued (last 24 hours): 26,633
12:50pm - We are now waiting on the 1pm COVID-19 update. We will bring that to you as soon as it is in.
12:40pm - Here is a look at vaccination rates by DHB with doses up until Wednesday night included. Only Northland hasn't reached the 90 percent first dose threshold, while most regions have or are close to passing the 90 percent second dose mark.
12:25pm - Over the past two years, we've all become armchair experts about the virus. We know how to tell how fast it's spreading, how you get it and what you can do to protect yourself.
But it's time for people to think about another virus you don't have to worry about so much.
There's another infection you can't see, but almost certainly can feel, and perhaps even want to catch - Christmas joy.
Morning Report spoke to a couple of pandemic experts, starting with Otago University epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker.
"The reproduction number is the number of cases that each case typically infects, it's actually driven by the contact rate, the risk of transmission per contact, and how long you're infectious for," he said.
12:10pm - There are two new locations of interest:
- Pak'nSave Rotorua - Tuesday, December 21 between 8:25am and 9:20am
- Pak'nSave Taupo - Monday, December 20 between 4:30pm and 5:40pm
12pm - As we wait for the 1pm statement, here's a look back at Thursday's key case figures:
- Seven day rolling average of community cases: 58.1
- Number of new community cases: 56
- Number of new cases identified at the border: 4
- Location of new community cases: Auckland (42), Waikato (4), Bay of Plenty (6), Lakes (2), Tairāwhiti* (1), and Taranaki (1).
- Number of community cases (total): 10,432 (in current community outbreak)
- Cases epidemiologically linked (total): 7,777
- Number of active cases (total): 1,537 (cases identified in the past 21 days and not yet classed as recovered)
- Confirmed cases (total): 13,278**
11:35am - Britain recorded a record number of new coronavirus cases on Thursday as the Omicron variant swept across the country, with the daily tally reaching 119,789 from 106,122 a day earlier.
Many industries and transport networks are struggling with staff shortages as sick workers self-isolate, while hospitals in Britain have warned of the risk of an impact on patient safety.
Omicron's rapid advance has driven a surge in cases in Britain over the last seven days, with the total rising by 678,165, government data showed.
11:20am - A large number of locations of interest have dropped on Friday morning. They include:
- Sushi Paradise, Taupo - Monday, December 20 between 12pm and 12:05pm
- Farmers Taupo - Monday, December 20 between 4pm and 4:10pm
- AJ Hackett Bungy and Swing Taupo - Wednesday, December 22 between 11:20am and 11:35am
- New World Kaiapo - Wednesday, December 22 between 4:08pm and 5:30pm
11:05am - New South Wales has recorded a further 5612 cases of COVID-19, down very slightly on the 5715 recorded on Thursday.
There are 382 people in hospital and 53 in ICU. One more person has died with the virus.
In Victoria, 2095 new cases have been recorded, up from 2005 on Thursday.
10:50am - Kia ora, good morning, and welcome to Newshub's live updates for Friday.
The COVID-19 update is expected to be delivered at 1pm. It will be the final statement until Boxing Day, with no new data to be provided on Christmas Day.
It comes amid concerns that Kiwis travelling out of COVID-19 hotspots could be taking the virus with them as they set off to lower vaccinated areas, like Northland and Tairawhiti.
