Coronavirus: Latest on COVID-19 community outbreak - Thursday, January 6

There were 19 new community cases of COVID-19 and 43 infections at the border on Thursday, the Ministry of Health has announced.

The new figures came as the rules changed around pre-departure testing requirements for entry into New Zealand changed.

What you need to know:

• There were 19 new community cases announced on Thursday.
• 38 people in hospital, including four in ICU
• 94 percent of the eligible population in New Zealand double-vaccinated - including 91 percent of Pacific people and 81 percent of Māori.
• Pre-departure testing requirements for entry into New Zealand will change with a requirement for a PCR test from 72-48 hours of departure. 
• Travellers coming from places where a PCR test may be difficult can instead provide evidence of a negative rapid antigen test or loop-mediated isothermal amplification test result.
• Click here for all locations of interest.

These live updates have now finished.

8:20pm - For those lucky enough to secure a spot in MIQ, they may already have worked out exactly where they'll be spending their 10 days of isolation.

#HotelPredictions is an online tool helping Kiwi returnees mentally prepare for their MIQ stay.

The idea came after biochemist Nathan Kenny and his family moved home from the UK in August, realising that there was a science behind the allocation of MIQ hotel rooms.

Watch Ruwani Perera's full report here.

7:50pm - A COVID-19 case who went to a popular Auckland bar on New Year's Eve was vaccinated, the Ministry of Health says, despite an earlier RNZ report claiming they weren't.

The Longroom nightclub on Ponsonby Rd was named as a location of interest yesterday.

People who were at the venue from 10pm on 31 December until 12:50am on New Year's morning have been asked to get tested and self-isolate for 10 days, with authorities labelling the event 'high risk'.

RNZ's story has now been corrected.

Read more here.

7pm - Kiwis stranded in Australia have been left heartbroken and are running out of hope after being locked out of the latest managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) room release. 

The Government announced that Kiwis in Australia weren't allowed in the MIQ room release on Wednesday night due to a lack of flights.

Taylor Kean and her daughter have been trying to get home to their family in New Zealand since October.

"I'm going to get a bit emotional… I'm heartbroken to say the least, really," she said. "It's just hard not knowing when we're going to be able to see our son."

Rikki Sands and his family are also stuck in Australia.

"It's like you're disowned. You have no hope," he said. "It's just heartbreaking for my family and I; just mental health-wise it's not good."

Watch Alexa Cook's full story here.

6:30pm - Lab workers have given a stark warning about the Omicron variant of COVID-19, saying they'll be overwhelmed within a week if it takes hold in New Zealand. 

There are calls to ditch the mantra of 'test, test, test' and instead cautiously decide who actually needs one.

An emergency doctor is also sounding alarm bells, emphasising that emergency departments here will struggle if we follow Australia's path.

Watch Michael Morrah's story here.

5:15pm - More locations of interest.

Those at Tauranga Crossing Tauriko on New Year's Eve at 11:45am-2pm are told to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms for 10 days after they were exposed. If symptoms develop, they're advised to get a test and stay at home until they get a negative test result.

The Tauranga Hospital Emergency Department Waiting Room is a high-risk location.

Anyone there on Wednesday, December 29 between 12:40pm-4:30pm is told 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.

4:20pm - Some new locations of interest in the last couple of hours.

The first is the Majestic Tea Bar in Tauranga. Anyone who was there on New Year's Eve between 8:45am and 4pm is urged to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms for 10 days after they were exposed.

"If symptoms develop, get a test and stay at home until you get a negative test result," the ministry says.

The other location of interest is Tenpin Tauranga - and this one is deemed to be high-risk. Those who were at this venue on December 30 between 10:15am and 2:30pm are advised to self-isolate and test immediately and on day 5 after they were exposed.

"Further isolation and testing requirements will be provided by Public Health. Record your visit online or call Healthline so our contact tracers can get in touch," says the ministry.

4pm - ACT leader David Seymour has lashed out at Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and COVID-19 Response Minister, alleging they owe Kiwis stuck in Australia an apology for leaving them stranded with no flights for today's MIQ lottery.

Last night, MBIE said: "Due to the delay to the opening of the self-isolation pathway from Australia, airlines do not currently have any red flights scheduled from Australia for March or April. For this reason, those travelling from Australia will not be able to participate in tomorrow's room release. MIQ is working with airlines in relation to schedules and future releases."

Seymour says the Government's on holiday in the midst of a pandemic - and Kiwis desperate to come home are paying the price.

"Four Air New Zealand A320s could carry 720 people across the ditch. If the Government could have persuaded Air New Zealand to fly them, half the slots could have been for Kiwis stranded in Oz. Jacinda and Chris should explain, did they ask Air New Zealand, and what was the answer?

"You couldn't make this up. The Government should have worked with airlines to ensure vaccinated, negative-tested Kiwis have a pathway home. Their failure means airlines have given up on us...

"Chris Hipkins and Jacinda need to front today to apologise and explain to New Zealanders how they've managed to stuff this up so badly."

3:10pm - The Grammy Awards, where music's top prizes are dished out each year, have been indefinitely postponed as Omicron rapidly spreads globally and in the US.

The show had been scheduled to take place at an arena in downtown Los Angeles on January 31.

CBS and the Recording Academy said they consulted local officials, health experts and artists before deciding to scrap the January date.

Read more here.

2:45pm - More from the Ministry:

Contacts

•  Number of active contacts being managed (total): 5,223
• Percentage who have received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements): 82%
• Percentage who have returned at least one result: 78%

Tests

• Number of tests total (last 24 hours): 12,253
• Tests rolling average (last 7 days): 11,159
• Auckland tests total (last 24 hours): 5,887

Wastewater

No unexpected detections.

NZ COVID Tracer

Poster scans in the 24 hours to midday yesterday: 2,375,703

Manual diary entries in the 24 hours to midday: 44,656

My Vaccine Pass

• My vaccine pass downloads total: 4,658,695
• My vaccine pass downloads (last 24 hours): 17,609

New cases identified at the border

Today’s cases

Today, we are reporting 19 new community cases in Auckland, Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and Taranaki.

*The two cases in Taranaki we reported on yesterday but were not counted in the official tally as they came in outside the reporting period. Today they are included in the total numbers. Today we are reporting on one additional case in Taranaki that will be included in tomorrow’s official figures.

Regional updates

We are continuing to ask anyone in New Zealand with symptoms – no matter how mild – to get tested, even if you’re vaccinated. Please stay at home until you return a negative test result.

Testing and vaccination centre locations nationwide can be found on the Healthpoint website.

Auckland

There are six new cases being reported in Auckland today.

Health and welfare providers are now supporting 1,066 people to isolate at home, including 291 cases.

Waikato

Two in Coromandel, one in Tairua, one in Hamilton and one location pending confirmation. Three have been linked to previous cases with two remaining under investigation. 

A pop-up testing site is operating in Waihi and testing is available at Whitianga general practices. For details of all dedicated testing sites operating over the holiday period, please visit Healthpoint, the DHB webpage or DHB Facebook page. 

In the Waikato, Public Health, primary care and manaaki providers are supporting 50 cases to isolate at home. 

Bay of Plenty 

There are five cases to report today in the Bay of Plenty. Three cases are in Tauranga and the other two cases are in the Western Bay of Plenty District. All cases are contacts of previously notified cases. There is one case to report in Taupō, which is still being investigated for potential links.

Taranaki

Today we are reporting one new case in Taranaki. This is a household contact of a previous case and linked to the Eltham cluster. They have been in isolation across the festive period. This new case will be included in tomorrow’ official figures.

Public health staff are continuing to investigate to determine links to any previously reported cases in the region. Public health staff are also working to identify any other locations of interest and these will be updated on the Ministry of Health webpage as soon as possible.

The Emergency Department at Taranaki Base Hospital has been identified as an exposure event. The DHB is working with those who may be affected.

At this stage, no staff have had to be stood down.  Anyone at the Emergency Department between Saturday 1 January at 6.30pm and midnight on Sunday 2 January will be considered a casual contact.

2:40pm - From the Ministry of Health:

We are today reporting 43 cases identified at the border, a jump from 23 cases yesterday.  While whole genome sequencing of these cases is expected soon, the likelihood is that Omicron will continue to be the most prevalent variant at our borders.

This variant of COVID-19 continues to be having a significant impact globally, so it is not unexpected to see an increase of Omicron cases at the border.

In the past 24 hours we saw an increase in the number of New Zealanders getting first and second vaccinations and a jump in booster shots. These increases included an extra 904 first vaccinations, 3,191 second vaccinations and an additional 35,837 booster shots and a total of 41,165 booster shots administered in total yesterday.

The jump in booster shots was of course expected as those who’d had their second vaccine four months ago became eligible for a booster shot from yesterday. There were also more than twice as many My Vaccine passes downloaded in the last 24 hours than the previous day (17,609 total).

Changes to pre-departure testing

From tomorrow pre-departure testing requirements for entry into New Zealand will change with a requirement for a PCR test from within 72 hours to within 48 hours of departure. A temporary exemption has also been granted by the Acting Director General of Health. This  means travellers coming from 105 specified countries and jurisdictions where obtaining a PCR test may be difficult or not possible, can instead provide evidence of a negative rapid antigen test (RAT) or loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) test result.

This will need to be taken within 24 hours of departure and all tests must be supervised by a health professional, which includes pharmacists, and verified in writing in the jurisdiction of origin.

The places which are exempt from the requirement for a PCR test within 48 hours of departure, and for which a RAT or LAMP test is allowed as an alternative to a PCR test are available on the Unite Against COVID-19 website. The changes to pre-departure testing were announced by Government last year.

COVID-19 vaccine update

• Vaccines administered to date (percentage of eligible people): 3,977,174 first doses (94%); 3,862,780 second doses (92%); 29,881 third primary doses; 380,408 booster doses
• Vaccines administered yesterday: 1,307 first doses; 4,601 second doses; 599 third primary doses and 41,165 booster doses.
• Māori (percentage of eligible people): 501,269 first doses (88%); 464,070 second doses (81%)
• Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people): 271,769 first doses (95%); 260,261 second doses (91%)

Vaccination rates by DHB with active cases (percentage of eligible people)

• Northland DHB: First doses (89%); second doses (84%)
• Auckland Metro DHBs: First doses (96%); second doses (94%)
• Waikato DHB: First doses (94%); second doses (91%)
• Bay of Plenty DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (90%)
• Lakes DHB: First doses (92%); second doses (88%)
• Taranaki DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (90%)
• Tairāwhiti DHB: First doses (91%); second doses (86%)
• Hawke’s Bay DHB: First doses (95%); second doses (91%)
• Canterbury DHB: First doses (98%); second doses (96%)

Hospitalisations

Cases in hospital: 38; North Shore: 5; Auckland: 14; Middlemore: 15, Tauranga: 4,

Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region wards only): Unvaccinated or not eligible (13 cases / 40.6%); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (9 cases / 28.1%); fully vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (9 cases / 28.1%); 1 unknown (3.1%).

Average age of current hospitalisations: 55

Cases in ICU or HDU: 4 (2 in Middlemore and 2 in Tauranga).

Cases

• Seven day rolling average of community cases: 34
• Number of new community cases: 19
• Number of new cases identified at the border: 43
• Location of new community cases: Auckland (6), Waikato (5), Bay of Plenty (5), Northland (1), Taranaki (2)
• Number of community cases (total): 11.022 (in current community outbreak)
• Cases epidemiologically linked (total): 8,304
• Number of active cases (total): 1,081 (cases identified in the past 21 days and not yet classified as recovered)
• Confirmed cases (total): 14,092

2:35pm - 19 new community cases today, and 43 cases at the border. Full details to come.

2pm - Still no sign of an update. We will bring it to you as soon as it arrives on the Ministry of Health page. 

1:50pm - We are still waiting.

1:25pm - We are still waiting on the update to be released.

12:35pm - There is one new location of interest:

• The Big Apple Otorohanga - Saturday, January 1 between 11:45am and 2pm. 

Anyone there at that time should "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."

12:10pm - While we wait for the latest update, here's a look back at the case update on Wednesday. There were 17 new community cases as well as 23 Omicron infections in MIQ.

11:45am - Emergency departments are preparing to see an onslaught of Omicron cases, in a New Zealand outbreak, heightening concerns about worker burnout.

Emergency medicine specialist Dr John Bonning expects New Zealand primary health and EDs will be bombarded with people who are unwell, but not sick enough for inpatient care.

Read more here.

11:30am - The Ministry of Health has announced a new 'close contact' location of interest. This is the JUMP Trampoline Park in Takanini, Auckland. The dates/times are Monday, January 3 between 10am and 1:30pm and Tuesday, December 28 between 10:30am and 1pm. 

People who were at this location during those times are asked to "self-isolate, test immediately and on day 5 after you were exposed at this location of interest".

Full advice and locations of interest are here. 

11:20am - Welcome to Newshub's live updates for Thursday. We are awaiting the latest COVID-19 data, which is expected at 1pm. As usual during this summer period, the update will be via a statement.