The Ministry of Health announced 63 new community cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the lowest it's been in seven weeks.
Of the 63 new cases of COVID-19, 53 are in Auckland, three in Waikato, two in Northland, two in Canterbury, one in Bay of Plenty, one in Taranaki - which was reported on Friday.
The case in Taranaki was announced on Friday and is included in Saturday's official tally.
They also announced there was one historical case in the Southern DHB.
The 63 new cases announced is the lowest since October 20.
The ministry says even though there has been a drop in case numbers, they ask everyone in New Zealand to remain vigilant.
"Anyone with any symptoms that could be COVID-19 is asked to get a test, even if they are vaccinated," the ministry says.
"Be sure to wear a mask or face covering when you’re out and about and keep track of where you have been using the NZ COVID Tracer App, or a manual diary."
The country is in its second weekend in the new traffic light system, the last before the Auckland border opens on December 15.
The Prime Minister says Omicron's arrival in New Zealand is "inevitable" - but it won't mean more lockdowns.
In a sit-down interview with Newshub, Jacinda Ardern said: "There's no evidence to suggest that we would need to change the system we have."
New Zealand was advantaged because there were still border controls that would catch the highly transmissible new strain, said Ardern.
And keeping managed isolation meant there was more time to learn about Omicron.
What you need to know:
There are 63 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday - 53 in Auckland, three in Waikato, two in Canterbury, two in Northland, one in Bay of Plenty, and one in Taranaki - which was first reported on Friday. There is also one historical case in Southern.
Sixty people are in hospital, three of whom are in intensive care or high dependency units.
Auckland's border will open on Dec 15, allowing fully vaccinated Kiwis to travel to and from the region. People can also present a negative test received within 72 hours prior to departure.
Workers covered by the My Vaccine Pass mandate - staff working at businesses that are required to use jab certificates to fully operate - must be fully vaccinated by Jan 17.
Keep up-to-date with the latest locations of interest here.
These live updates have finished.
3:07pm - The Ministry of Health has announced three new locations of interest in Christchurch.
Here are the latest locations of interest as of 3pm:
Super Liquor Barrington Mall, Christchurch
Bus Route 60 Christchurch Bus Interchange to Barrington Street Mall
Bus Route 60 Barrington Street Mall to Christchurch Bus Interchange
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice, click here.
2:48pm - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has revealed what she'd do differently if the vaccine rollout started today.
The PM says the Government could have done more to assist community-led vaccination efforts, but she defends the decision not to prioritise all younger Māori in the rollout.
"Some of the most successful parts of the [vaccination] campaign have been where providers have had the freedom to just go out and do things in a way that worked for them.
"They had barriers and I'll think: 'How could we have taken those down more quickly, sooner for them?' That's something that I would do differently."
Read the full story here.
1:57pm - The Ministry of Health has announced two new locations of interest in Christchurch.
Here are the latest locations of interest as of 1pm:
Barrington Mall, Barrington, Christchurch
Paper Plus Barrington Mall Christchurch
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice, click here.
1:39pm - The ministry said there was a total of 21,013 vaccine doses administered on Thursday, including 2859 first doses and 9250 second doses.
The ministry also said there have been 149,651 booster shots so far.
Boosters have been available for eligible people for less than two weeks and are available to anyone aged 18 or over, who has been fully vaccinated for at least six months, is able to get one.
To date, 94 percent of eligible people in New Zealand have had their first dose and 89 percent are fully vaccinated.
Here are the vaccination rates by DHB with active cases (percentage of eligible people):
Northland DHB:
- First doses (87 percent); second doses (81 percent)
Auckland Metro DHBs:
- First doses (95 percent); second doses (92 percent)
Waikato DHB:
- First doses (93 percent); second doses (87 percent)
Bay of Plenty DHB:
- First doses (92 percent); second doses (85 percent)
Lakes DHB:
- First doses (91 percent); second doses (83 percent)
Taranaki DHB:
- First doses (92 percent); second doses (86 percent)
MidCentral DHB:
- First doses (94 percent); second doses (88 percent)
Whanganui DHB:
- First doses (90 percent); second doses (83 percent)
Hawke’s Bay DHB:
- First doses (93 percent); second doses (86 percent)
Nelson-Marlborough DHB:
- First doses (94 percent); second doses (88 percent)
Canterbury DHB:
- First doses (97 percent); second doses (93 percent)
1:15pm - Here are the regional updates for Saturday's cases from the Ministry of Health:
The ministry is continuing to ask anyone in New Zealand with symptoms - no matter how mild - to get tested, even if they're vaccinated.
They ask if you get test to remain isolated until you return a negative test result.
Testing and vaccination centre locations nationwide can be found on the Healthpoint website.
Northland update
There are two cases to report in Paihia, Northland on Saturday.
Health officials are investigating recent travel to Auckland as the likely source of their infections.
Anyone in Northland with any symptoms that could be COVID-19 is asked to get a test.
Testing is available in Kerikeri this weekend at 1 Sammaree Place, on Saturday from 9am to 3pm and Sunday from 10am to 2pm.
A full list of testing and vaccination sites open in Northland can be found on the Northland DHB website.
Auckland
On Saturday, there are 53 new cases being reported in Auckland.
Health and welfare providers are now supporting 2809 people to isolate at home, including 677 cases.
Auckland Aged Residential Care Facility
A staff member at Aria Park aged residential care facility in Auckland has tested positive for COVID-19.
Auckland Regional Public Health Service and Auckland DHB staff are supporting the residents and staff at the privately-owned facility.
Testing is being undertaken with residents and staff as part of the outbreak management plan.
Waikato
There are three linked cases to report in Waikato on Saturday.
Cases continue to be detected in Te Kūiti and the ministry urges everyone living in or around the town to remain vigilant. Anyone with any symptoms that could be COVID-19 is asked to get a test.
There are six pop-up and dedicated testing sites operating across Waikato on Saturday in Hamilton, Taumarunui, Huntly, Te Kūiti, and Ōtorohanga. For a full list of testing sites, see the Waikato DHB website.
Bay of Plenty
The ministry is reporting one new case in Tauranga.
This case remains under investigation for any link to previously reported cases.
Contacts are being identified and will be contacted for testing and isolation advice.
Canterbury update
There are two linked cases to report in Christchurch.
Christchurch testing locations and opening hours are available on the Healthpoint website.
1:02pm - The Ministry of Health has announced 63 new community cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the lowest it's been in seven weeks.
The Ministry said there are 53 cases in Auckland, three in Waikato, two in Northland, two in Christchurch, one in the Bay of Plenty and one in Taranaki.
The case in Taranaki was announced on Friday and is included in Saturday’s official tally.
A case previously under investigation in the Southern region has been re-classified as historical. This case was announced on Friday and is reported in Saturday’s numbers.
The 63 new cases announced is the lowest since October 20.
There are 60 people in hospital, up from 56 on Friday, while there are three people in ICU or HDU. The average age is 50.
Of those 60 people, 11 are in North Shore Hospital, 20 in Auckland Hospital, 24 in Middlemore, 2 in Waikato, 2 in Tauranga and one in Nelson-Marlborough.
Of those in Auckland hospitals, 28 cases (51 percent) are unvaccinated or not eligible due to their age. Eleven cases (22 percent) are partially vaccinated, and 12 (22 percent) were fully vaccinated.
An Auckland border worker has tested positive for COVID-19 as part of routine surveillance testing. This case remains under investigation and is yet to be classified as either a community or border case. The case has not been included in Saturday's community case tally but has been added to the tally of total cases to date.
12:53pm - We are standing by for the Ministry of Health's daily update at 1pm.
12:48pm - People are turning up to the Auckland Domain on Saturday for another anti-mandate protest.
So far the turnout is significantly smaller than last weekend with about 80 to 100 protesters gathering saying they are going to march to Government House in Epsom.
A few people arrived early with signs, someone was playing Michael Jackson 'They Don't Care About Us' from a car, and a stand selling T-shirts was being set up, NZ Herald reports.
There were a number of different factions within the crowd: those supporting Voices For Freedom, those holding United Tribes flags and those opposing the Chinese Communist Party.
Headquarters owner Leo Molloy has addressed the crowd saying if protesters want respect, they need to send their message to Government and not disrupt business.
This is the seventh time the so-called freedom fighters have turned out to protest.
This comes a week after thousands gathered for an anti-Government protest that took over the busy Newmarket retail strip and cost businesses millions.
Marching to the beat of an angry drum, anti-mandate protesters once again were voicing what they say are a removal of their freedoms.
"Personally I think they're a bunch of idiots. If they get the COVID, there's no freedom, is there," one person said.
12:05pm -The Ministry of Health has announced one new location of interest in Christchurch.
Here are the latest locations of interest as of 12pm:
Bed Bath and Beyond Addington 18 Foster Street, Addington, Christchurch
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice, click here.
11:55am -The Ministry of Health has announced three new locations of interest with two in Christchurch and one in Tauranga.
Here are the latest locations of interest as of 11am:
Farmers Riccarton, Christchurch
Kmart Riccarton, Christchurch
Country Fare 878 State Highway 29, Tauriko, Tauranga 3171
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice, click here.
11:37am - The Ministry of Health says they are aware of the report that a man has been vaccinated 10 times in one day on behalf of other people.
The Ministry says they're taking the matter "very seriously" and advises anyone who's had more vaccine doses than recommended to seek clinical advice as soon as practicable.
"We are very concerned about this situation and are working with the appropriate agencies," says Astrid Koornneef, group manager operations, COVID-19 vaccine and immunisation programme.
"Having an inaccurate vaccination status not only puts you at risk, it puts your friends, whānau and community at risk, and the healthcare teams that treat you now in the future. Medical practitioners operate in a high-trust environment and rely on people to act in good faith to share information accurately to assist with their treatment."
The man is understood to have visited several vaccination centres and was paid for the jabs, Stuff reports
"To assume another person's identity and receive a medical treatment is dangerous," Koornneef says. "This puts at risk the person who receives a vaccination under an assumed identify and the person whose health record will show they have been vaccinated when they have not.
"If a person was to receive a vaccination under an assumed identify their own personal health record would not reflect that they were vaccinated. This could affect how their health is managed in the future."
11:05am - A woman has been left devastated after not being able to attend her brother's tangi.
Victoria Hemmingson, 23, flew from Australia to attend her brother's tangi but has been refused the chance to attend the service, despite making it clear to officials who granted her an emergency allocation that's why she was coming.
Hemmingson will be forced to watch the service on a livestream from her Auckland hotel room, hundreds of kilometres away.
The rejection is a hammer blow for Hemmingson after her brother Jaymz's death last week, which followed a years-long battle with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), a rare kidney disease.
She and Jaymz were extremely close growing up, having been only a year apart in age, and she's devastated she'll be in isolation while family members are together sending him off.
"It's really traumatising," she told Newshub.
Read the full story here.
10:20am - The Ministry of Health has announced two new locations of interest.
Here are the latest locations of interest as of 10am:
Westfield Mall Riccarton,
Dominos Pizza Otumoetai, Tauranga
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice, click here.
10:00am: A man has been vaccinated 10 times in one day on behalf of other people, Stuff reports.
It's believed the man, who is understood to have visited several vaccination centres, was paid for the jabs.
This has led to an investigation by the Ministry of Health who say they're "taking this matter very seriously" according to Stuff.
Auckland University professor Nikki Turner, medical director of the Immunisation Advisory Centre, said it is not safe to do this.
"The Comirnaty vaccine, the one we're using, is designed based on early clinical data that works out what's the right amount to give a good immune response and to give a good safety profile, and we do know that a high dose vaccine creates more side effects," she says.
"So this is definitely not recommended ... we have no evidence as to what side effects somebody would have with this amount of vaccine.
"This is not a safe thing to do, this is putting that person at risk."
9:10am - Here are the latest locations of interest as of 9am:
FreshChoice Barrington, Christchurch
Westpac Kerikeri Branch, Kerikeri
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice, click here.
9:05am - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has told Newshub that the arrival of the new coronavirus variant Omicron is "inevitable" - but it won't mean more lockdowns.
In a sit-down interview with Newshub, Jacinda Ardern said: "There's no evidence to suggest that we would need to change the system we have."
New Zealand was advantaged because there were still border controls that would catch the highly transmissible new strain, said Ardern.
And keeping managed isolation meant there was more time to learn about Omicron.
"We've got two layers of protection, of course - we've all of the things we're doing before people come to New Zealand and also we're still using managed isolation.
"A lot of countries have stood that up - we already had it," Arden said.
Read the full story here.
9:00am - Kia ora, good morning, and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak for Saturday, December 11.
