Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has had a COVID test and is "feeling well" after going into self-isolation on Saturday night.
"The Prime Minister has undertaken a PCR test this morning as per MoH requirements. She remains asymptomatic and continues to feel well," a spokesperson for the PM said on Sunday.
The spokesman said the results of the test were expected later on Sunday or early Monday.
The news comes after there were a further 57 locations of interest announced around the country on Saturday including 23 close contact locations linked to Omicron cases where people need to self-isolate and get a test immediately.
One of those high-risk locations of interest saw Ardern and Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro go into self-isolation.
The pair had been in Northland at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and were exposed during their NZ8273 flight from Kerikeri to Auckland on Saturday, January 22.
What you need to know:
- There are 103 new community cases in New Zealand of any variant - Northland (4), Auckland (56), Waikato (12), Tairāwhiti (1), Bay of Plenty (14), Lakes (8), Hawke's Bay (3), MidCentral (1), Taranaki (1), Wellington (2), Nelson Tasman (1)
- One person, who was a patient at North Shore Hospital, has died
- There are 11 people in hospital: one in North Shore, four in Middlemore, two in Auckland City, three in Rotorua, and one in Waikato
- A "technical issue" from the Ministry of Health's end means that about 40 further cases in Auckland haven't been entered into the reporting system. These will be officially reported on Monday
- On Saturday, positive COVID-19 wastewater detections taken on January 26 and 27 were reported in Dannevirke, Kerikeri, Pukekohe, Paihia and Rawene.
These live updates have finished.
4:30pm - Many locations of interest have been added in the past couple of days; these range from sports clubs, to bus journeys, to food outlets.
The locations span across the North Island from Whangārei to Wellington and in between.
4:15pm - There are four new locations of interest. They are:
- Dawson & Centremens Hairdresser Whakatane, January 21 from 3pm to 3:15pm
- TummyMate General Store New Plymouth, January 25 from 3pm to 3:30pm
- InterCity Bus Trip Gisborne to Napier Bus Service No.IC6965, January 28 from 9:30am to 12pm
- Coronation Park Toilets, January 28 from 6pm to 6:15pm.
3:35pm - There were 103 new community COVID-19 cases reported on Sunday, a rise from compared to numbers earlier this week, and one additional death.
Aside from the daily case numbers, you may have missed the details of the Ministry of Health's latest update.
3:10pm - There are 11 new locations of interest. They are:
- Spice Traders Petone, January 21 from 5pm to 5:30pm
- Riverside Cafe Whangārei, January 24 from 9:30am to 10:30am
- Turkuaz Cafe Whangārei, January 25 from 7pm to 8:30pm
- Tarocash St Lukes Westfield Mall, January 26 from 8:58am to 9:15am
- Nando's Manukau Auckland, January 26 from 11:59am to 1pm
- BP Connect Tokoroa, January 26 from 2:04pm to 2:15pm
- Woodside Bar Manukau, January 26 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm
- National Army Museum Waiouru, January 27 from 11:42am to 11:50am
- Taylors 1998 Ltd Hunterville, January 27 from 1:03pm to 1:10pm
- BP Connect Bulls, January 27 from 1:45pm to 1:50pm
- Gear Meat Pie Company Gisborne, January 27 from 3:45pm to 4:15pm.
2:50pm - A primary school has hired someone to talk with parents who are hesitant about sending their children back to school due to COVID-19.
Many schools start the year tomorrow.
In Auckland, Glen Innes School principal Jono Hendricks said they have good ventilation and a system to separate the junior and senior school.
He said one of the teacher aides will be a parent liaison.
"Working alongside her we should be able to touch base with those families who are still hesitant, talking through the concerns, let them know that we've got procedures in place to make sure that our day to day things can happen, that the kids actually need the interaction with other children as well."
2:20pm - There are two new locations of interest. They are:
- Peloton Bar And Eatery Wellington Airport Rongotai, January 19 from 9pm to 9:30pm
- Rasoi Indian Restaurant Napier, January 23 from 8pm to 9pm.
2pm - Over in Australia, New South Wales has reported 13,524 new cases and 52 deaths in the past 24 hours.
There are 2663 people in hospital, 182 of whom are in ICU.
In Victoria, there are 10,589 new cases and 20 deaths to report.
There are 889 people in hospital, 111 of whom are in ICU and 35 are on ventilators.
1:40pm - Here is a general update on vaccine rates, Omicron, and more from the Ministry of Health:
Omicron update
Public health teams are continuing to manage Omicron cases in the community through rapidly isolating cases and contacts, contact tracing, and testing to slow the spread.
We are expecting the number of cases connected to the Soundsplash music festival in Hamilton last weekend to grow over the coming days as further test results are received. The Ministry of Health is continuing to advise all attendees to get a test, if they have not already done so.
We’re continuing to ask everyone in New Zealand to act as if Omicron is circulating in their community.
That means wearing a mask, physical distancing and scanning in using the COVID-19 Tracer app, when you’re out and about.
The most common early symptoms of the Omicron variant are a sore or scratchy throat, and a runny nose. So if you have these symptoms, please get a test, and stay at home until you get a negative result.
Testing and vaccination centre locations nationwide can be found on the Healthpoint website.
COVID-19 vaccine update
- Vaccines administered to date (percentage of eligible people): 4,040,538 first doses (96%); 3,960,959 second doses (94%); 1,287,972 booster doses
- Vaccines administered yesterday: 764 first doses;1,300 second doses; 9,108 paediatric doses; 30,146 booster doses.
- Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 512,045 first doses (90%); 484,949 second doses (85%).
- Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 277,078 first doses (97%); 268,951 second doses (94%).
- Paediatric vaccines administered to date (percentage of 5-11-year-olds): 159,296 first doses (33%)
- Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 5-11): 20,551 first doses (18%)
- Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 5-11): 11,503 first doses (23%)
Vaccination rates for all DHBs (percentage of eligible people aged 12 +)
- Northland DHB: First doses (90%); second doses (87%)
- Auckland Metro DHBs: First doses (97%); second doses (95%)
- Waikato DHB: First doses (95%); second doses (92%)
- Bay of Plenty DHB: First doses (95%); second doses (92%)
- Lakes DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (90%)
- MidCentral DHB: First doses (96%); second doses (94%)
- Tairawhiti DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (89%)
- Whanganui DHB: First doses (92%); second doses (89%)
- Hawke’s Bay: First doses (96%); second doses (94%)
- Taranaki DHB: First doses (94%); second doses (92%)
- Wairarapa DHB: First doses (96%); second doses (94%)
- Capital and Coast DHB: First doses (98%); second doses (97%)
- Hutt Valley DHB: First doses (97%); second doses (95%)
- Nelson Marlborough DHB: First doses (96%); second doses (94%)
- West Coast DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (90%)
- Canterbury DHB: First doses (99%); second doses (97%)
- South Canterbury DHB: First doses (95%); second doses (93%)
- Southern DHB: First doses (97%); second doses (96%)
Hospitalisations
- Cases in hospital: 11; North Shore: 1; Middlemore: 4; Auckland: 2; Rotorua: 3, Waikato 1
- Average age of current hospitalisations: 58
- Cases in ICU or HDU: 0
- Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region wards only): Unvaccinated or not eligible (N/A cases / 0%); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (1 case / 20%); fully vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (4 cases / 80%)
Cases
- Seven day rolling average of community cases: 59
- Seven day rolling average of border cases: 43
- Number of new community cases: 103
- Number of new cases identified at the border: 37
- Location of new community cases: *Northland (4), *Auckland (56), Waikato (12), Tairāwhiti (1), *Bay of Plenty (14), Lakes (8), Hawke’s Bay (3), MidCentral (1), Taranaki (1), Wellington (2), Nelson Tasman (1)
- Number of community cases (total): 11,914 (in current community outbreaks)
- Cases epidemiologically linked (total): 9,016
- Number of active cases (total): 710 (cases identified in the past 21 days and not yet classified as recovered)
- Confirmed cases (total): 15,910
Contacts
- Number of active contacts being managed (total): 7,566
- Percentage who has received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements): 73%
- Percentage who has returned at least one result: 72%
Tests
- Number of tests total (last 24 hours):18,765
- Tests rolling average (last 7 days): 19,471
- Auckland tests total (last 24 hours): 9,832
Wastewater
No unusual detections to report.
NZ COVID Tracer
- Poster scans in the 24 hours to midday yesterday: 2,747,941
- Manual diary entries in the 24 hours to midday: 45,837
My Vaccine Pass
- My vaccine pass downloads total: 4,982,395
- My vaccine pass downloads (last 24 hours): 9,407
1:35pm - Here is the regional update from the Ministry of Health:
Today’s cases
We are reporting new community cases in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Lakes, Tairāwhiti, MidCentral, Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki, Wellington, Nelson Tasman.
Northland
Today we are reporting four cases in Northland. Three of these cases were reported yesterday. The new case is a household member of an existing case.
Auckland
There are 56 cases to report in Auckland today. However, a technical issue has meant that approximately 40 further have not been entered into the Ministry’s reporting systems. We are working to resolve the issue and the additional cases will be reported tomorrow.
Health and welfare providers are now supporting 891 people in the region to isolate at home, including 288 cases.
Waikato
There are 12 new cases in the Waikato today, with 10 linked to previous cases and two under investigation. Seven are reported for Hamilton, two in Paeroa, one in Waihi, and two locations not yet confirmed.
There were 1620 tests processed in Waikato yesterday.
Public Health, primary care and manaaki providers are supporting 40 cases to isolate at home.
Lakes
Eight new cases are being reported in the Lakes area today. Of these, six are contacts of other cases and two are being investigated. All eight of these cases are in the Rotorua district.
Bay of Plenty
There are 14 new cases being reported in the Bay of Plenty today. Eight are contacts of existing cases and three are being investigated to determine any potential links. Six of these cases are in the Western Bay, four are in Tauranga and one is in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. There are three further cases onboard the Singapore-flagged Maersk Bogor container ship, which is currently under quarantine at the Port of Tauranga.
Bay of Plenty public health officials are encouraging anyone in Katikati who has symptoms or has been at a location of interest anywhere in New Zealand, to please get tested. Testing centres and opening hours in Katikati can be found on the Healthpoint website.
Tairāwhiti
There is one new case to report in Tairāwhiti today. The case is linked an existing case and also has links to Soundsplash.
Hawke’s Bay
Three new cases are being reported in Hawke’s Bay today. Investigations are underway to determine any potential links to existing cases.
MidCentral
There is one new case being reported in MidCentral today, they are linked to an existing case in Tairāwhiti.
Two bus journeys will be published today as locations of interest in relation to this case. Anyone who was on either of these buses is considered a close contact and must self-identify by calling the COVID-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 or registering here.
The first bus was the InterCity IC6965 bus from Gisborne to Napier which departed Gisborne at 9.30am Friday 28 January and arrived in Napier at 1pm on the same day.
The second bus was the InterCity IC6367 bus from Napier to Wellington, which departed Napier at 1.50pm Friday 28 January and arrived in Wellington at 7.45pm on the same day. Although the case disembarked in Palmerston North, where they later tested positive for COVID-19, the entire trip is considered to be a Location of Interest and all passengers are close contacts.
Taranaki
There is one new COVID-19 case to report in Taranaki. The new case is a known close contact of cases linked to the Hawkes Bay region and this person has been isolating in South Taranaki whilst waiting for test results.
Wellington
Today we can confirm two new cases. One in the Hutt Valley, linked to an event in Auckland, and one case in Capital & Coast DHB already in isolation and linked to an existing case.
With a further positive wastewater test result in Porirua, we urge anyone who lives in Porirua and Wellington’s northern suburbs to get a test if they feel unwell with COVID-19 like symptoms.
There are a number of new locations of interest to announce across the Wellington region, including two inbound flights deemed close contacts where people who were on-board need to self-isolate and test immediately. See full details on the Ministry’s Locations of Interest website.
Nelson Tasman
We are reporting one new case in Nelson Tasman today. This case was transferred from Christchurch and is isolating in Nelson. Investigations are underway to determine how they are linked to the outbreak.
1:30pm - There are 103 new community cases (of any variant) and 11 people are in hospital.
The location of new cases are: Northland (4), Auckland (56), Waikato (12), Tairāwhiti (1), Bay of Plenty (14), Lakes (8), Hawke’s Bay (3), MidCentral (1), Taranaki (1), Wellington (2), Nelson Tasman (1).
There is also one new death of a patient at North Shore Hospital. This person was in their 70s and was admitted to hospital on January 21.
The person had a number of underlying health conditions and was receiving appropriate ward-level care, the Ministry of Health says.
1:09pm - While we wait for the ministry to announce Sunday's COVID-19 case numbers very shortly, the Ministry of Health has announced five new locations of interest including three close contact locations.
The close contact location of interest are:
- InterCity Bus Trip Napier to Wellington - Friday, 28 January from 1:50pm to 7:45pm
- InterCity Bus Trip Gisborne to Napier - Friday, 28 January 9:30am to 12pm
- Rotorua Badminton Club - Group That Played 7pm-9pm - Friday, 21 January from 7pm to 9pm
The ministry asks anyone at these venues during the exposure time to self-isolate, test immediately and on day 5 after you were exposed at this location of interest. Further isolation and testing requirements will be provided by Public Health.
The other locations of interest are:
- Wendys Dominion Road Auckland - Wednesday, 26 January from 4pm to Thursday, 27 January 12:15am
- Rotorua Badminton Club - Group That Played 6pm-8pm - Friday, 21 January from 6pm to 8pm
The ministry asks anyone at these venues to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms for 10 days after you were exposed. If symptoms develop, get a test and stay at home until you get a negative test result.
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice - and updates to existing locations of interest - click here.
12:35pm - As usual, the Ministry of Health will release its daily statement with the latest updates on the COVID-19 outbreak at around 1pm.
Stay tuned as we will publish the newest developments live as soon as the statement is available.
12:08pm - The Ministry of Health has announced eight new locations of interest around the country including one close contact venue.
The close contact location of interest is:
- Burger Fuel New Plymouth Indoor Seating - Tuesday, 25 January from 2pm to 3pm
The ministry asks anyone at Burger Fuel during the exposure time to self-isolate, test immediately and on day 5 after you were exposed at this location of interest. Further isolation and testing requirements will be provided by Public Health.
The other locations of interest are:
- Burger Fuel New Plymouth Takeaway Customers - Tuesday, 25 January from 2pm to 3pm
- Countdown Katikati - Tuesday, 25 January from 4pm to 5pm
- Z Mungavin Avenue Service Station Porirua - Monday, 24 January from 10:30am to 10:40am
- Rotorua Regional Airport - Monday, 17 January from 6:24am to 6:45am
- Gilmours Wellington - Friday, 21 January from 4:27pm to 5pm
- Indo Spice World Tauranga - Tuesday, 25 January from 3:38pm to 4pm
- Peloton Bar And Eatery Rongotai Wellington - Wednesday, 19 January from 9pm to 9:30pm
The ministry asks anyone at these venues to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms for 10 days after you were exposed. If symptoms develop, get a test and stay at home until you get a negative test result
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice - and updates to existing locations of interest - click here.
11:11am - The Ministry of Health has announced five new locations of interest around the country at 11am.
The locations of interest are:
- Burger Fiasko Kerikeri - Thursday, 27 January from 3:30pm to 4pm
- Rotorua Regional Airport - Thursday, 27 January from 9:54am to 10am
- Synergy Hair Queensgate Lower Hutt - Sunday, 23 January from 4pm to 5pm
- SuperValue Cannons Creek Porirua - Monday, 24 January, from 11:05am to 11:15am
- Preservatorium Cafe Te Aro Wellington - Tuesday, 25 January from 7:37am to 8:10am
The ministry asks anyone who was at these venues during the exposure time to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms for 10 days after you were exposed. If symptoms develop, get a test and stay at home until you get a negative test result.
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice - and updates to existing locations of interest - click here.
11:05am - Kia ora, good morning, and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the COVID-19 Omicron outbreak for Sunday, January 30.
