The Ministry of Health has announced 188 new COVID-19 cases with 14 people in hospital and one in ICU on Monday.
Monday's cases are the second straight day COVID-19 infections have dropped after Saturday's record day.
What you need to know:
- There were 188 new community cases in New Zealand of any variant on Monday
- Of the new community cases, 117 are in Auckland, 20 in Bay of Plenty, 16 in Northland, 15 in Waikato, 12 in Lakes, three in Canterbury, two in Hutt Valley, one in Tairāwhiti, one in Hawke’s Bay and one in Mid Central.
- There are 14 people in hospital: three are in North Shore, four in Middlemore, three in Auckland City, two in Rotorua, one in Waikato and one in Christchurch.
These live updates have now closed.
6:43pm - The Ministry of Health has announced three new 'high risk' locations of interest in Auckland and Gisborne.
The locations are:
- Flight GB585 Auckland to Great Barrier - Saturday, 29 January from 7am to 7:30am
- Gisborne City Vintage Railway - Sunday, 30 January from 1pm to 3:30pm
- Waikanae Holiday Park Gisborne - From Sunday, 23 January 12pm to Sunday, 30 January 12pm
The ministry asks anyone at these venues/flight 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".
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice - and updates to existing locations of interest - click here.
6:33pm - The Tonga government has extended a nationwide lockdown by two weeks as COVID-19 cases rise.
Prime Minister Hu'akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni said the strict lockdown rules require all businesses to close and everyone to stay at home, except essential workers.
Stores will be allowed to open for 12 hours on Tuesdays and Fridays, with road checkpoints permitting entry to one person per household.
Read the full story here.
6pm - It's time for Newshub Live at 6pm. You can watch online here or tune in on Three.
5:34pm - Four primary school children in Havelock North have tested positive for COVID-19.
Hawke’s Bay DHB have been advised on Monday of four confirmed cases of COVID-19 amongst Te Mata Primary School students in Havelock North.
Hawke's Bay DHB said the cases are being treated as if they are the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
They said that the school and the families of the children have all been notified and are following public health advice.
"There are a number of close contacts associated with these cases, who are being followed up by public health," Hawke's Bay DHB said.
"Hawke’s Bay DHB is working closely with the school and Ministry of Education and further information will be provided in the Ministry of Health’s update tomorrow [Tuesday]."
The school will remain open for on-site learning for those not impacted while students and close contacts self isolating will have access to distance learning.
Hawke's Bay DHB said anyone who has cold or flu-like symptoms, no matter how mild, should get tested and isolate until they receive a negative test result.
5:27pm - A new study has found two in every three Kiwis are concerned about going to work as Omicron spreads.
The study found that 64 percent of respondents were concerned about being in the workplace.
The research, commissioned by ELMO Software, saw a rise in workers supporting a vaccine mandate in the workplace, with 76 percent of respondents in support, up from 66 percent in the July to September quarter.
"This ongoing study has made clear that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a clear impact on workers' perceived security and their overall wellbeing.
"Workers are feeling more burnt-out than at any other point recorded in 2021. More than two in five workers (43 percent) report they are burnt-out. This is up from 34 percent in Q3.
Read the full story here.
4:55pm - The midwives union is warning that an already stressed health system could become overwhelmed when border restrictions are lifted.
The problem would not be a lack of hospital beds but a shortage of staff if large numbers of health workers are off sick with Omicron, Midwifery Employee Representation & Advisory Service (MERAS) co-leader Jill Ovens said.
"It's worrying that a number of sports bodies, businesses and particularly tourism operators, are calling for all forms of self-isolation to be scrapped. The attitude seems to be 'just let anyone into the country and no worries if we all get Omicron'. Anyone who thinks that will work out well for us is deluded," Ovens said.
Read the full story here.
3:20pm - The Ministry of Health has announced one new location of interest in Richmond.
The location is:
- Hey Sushi Richmond - Friday, 4 February from 1pm to 2pm
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice - and updates to existing locations of interest - click here.
3:07pm - In Queensland, they have announced 4,701 new COVID-19 cases and 19 coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours.
Queensland has seen a decline in cases for the second straight day as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the state was getting through the peak.
"The good news there is that we think that we are getting through this peak, that we're coming down off the peak now, which is fantastic news," Palaszczuk said.
Queensland Health said there are 663 with 61 in ICU, which is an increase from 45 on Sunday.
Queensland currently has 47,876 active COVID cases.
2:07pm - The Ministry of Health has announced two new locations of interest.
The locations are:
- Waikanae Holiday Park Gisborne - From Sunday 23 January 12pm to Sunday, 30 January 12pm
- PAK'nSAVE Richmond - Friday, 4 February from 1pm to 2pm
The ministry says if you have begun to feel unwell after being at the holiday park in Gisborne during the exposure time, then you need to "please isolate, get tested and call Healthline on 08003585453".
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice - and updates to existing locations of interest - click here.
1:22pm - The Ministry of Health has announced four new 'high risk' locations of interest.
The 'high risk' locations of interest are:
- Air New Zealand Flight NZ5067 Auckland to Nelson - Friday, 4 February from 10:45am to 12:07pm
The ministry said "you are a CLOSE CONTACT if you were seated in rows 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27. 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"
- Air New Zeland Flight NZ453 Auckland to Wellington - Monday, 31 January from 7:15pm to 8:20pm
The ministry said "you are a CLOSE CONTACT if you were seated in rows 4. 5, 6, 7 and 8. 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 'high risk' locations of interest are:
- The Coffee Club Taupō - Wednesday, 2 February from 9:30am to 10:30am
- Islamic Centre Masjid Frankton - Tuesday, 1 February from 6pm to 9:30pm
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.
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice - and updates to existing locations of interest - click here.
1:10pm - Here are today's regional updates from the Ministry of Health:
We are reporting new community cases in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Tairāwhiti, Lakes, Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay, Mid Central, Hutt Valley and Canterbury.
Northland
We are reporting 16 new cases in Northland today, seven of which were first announced in yesterday’s update.
Of the nine remaining cases, six are in Kerikeri and three are in Whangarei. The nine cases are under investigation to determine whether they are linked to existing cases.
Auckland
There are 117 cases to report in Auckland today.
Health and welfare providers are now supporting 2,495 people in the region to isolate at home, including 997 cases.
Waikato
There are 15 new cases in the Waikato today, with 12 linked to previous cases and three under investigation.
Of these new cases, there are nine in Hamilton, one in Ohaupo, one in Te Kūiti, one in Huntly, one in Waimiha, and locations for the remaining three are under investigation.
Tairāwhiti
There is one new case to report in Tairāwhiti today. The case is a household contact of an existing case and was already isolating when they tested positive.
Lakes
We are reporting 12 new cases in the Lakes DHB today.
Of these cases, 11 are linked to known cases and one is under investigation. Two cases are in Taupo and 10 are in Rotorua.
Bay of Plenty
There are 20 cases to report in the Bay of Plenty today,
Of these cases, 13 are linked to known cases and seven are under investigation; one of which is likely to be reclassified as historical.
Eighteen of these cases are in Tauranga and two cases are in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
Hawke’s Bay
Today we are reporting one new case in the Hawke’s Bay, which remains under investigation.
Mid Central
We are reporting one new case in Palmerston North today.
The case remains under investigation for links to a previously reported case but had recently returned to the city after travelling outside the region.
At this stage, it is believed there are only a small number of close contacts associated with this case, who will be contacted directly.
The case is isolating at home.
Hutt Valley
We are reporting two new cases in the Hutt Valley today. Both cases are currently under investigation.
Canterbury
Today we are reporting three cases in Canterbury.
All are close contacts of known cases and were already isolating when they tested positive.
1:09pm - Here is the latest data from the Ministry of Health on the outbreak and vaccination campaign:
COVID-19 vaccine update
- Vaccines administered to date (percentage of eligible people): 4,047,722 first doses (96%); 3,973,387 second doses (94%); 1,586,950 booster doses (51%)
- Vaccines administered yesterday: 286 first doses; 513 second doses; 1,706 paediatric doses; 24,935 booster doses.
- Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 514,469 first doses (90%); 489,188 second doses (86%).
- Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 278,199 first doses (97%); 270,727 second doses (94%).
- Paediatric vaccines administered to date (percentage of 5-11-year-olds): 199,174 first doses (42%)
- Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 5-11): 27,079 (first doses (23%)
- Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 5-11): 15,738 first doses (32%)
Vaccination rates for all DHBs (percentage of eligible people aged 12 +)
- Northland DHB: First doses (89.9%); second doses (87%)
- Auckland Metro DHBs: First doses (97%); second doses (96%)
- Waikato DHB: First doses (95%); second doses (93%)
- Bay of Plenty DHB: First doses (95%); second doses (92%)
- Lakes DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (91%)
- MidCentral DHB: First doses (96%); second doses (94%)
- Tairāwhiti DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (89.7%)
- Whanganui DHB: First doses (92%); second doses (89.7%)
- Hawke’s Bay: First doses (97%); second doses (94%)
- Taranaki DHB: First doses (95%); 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 (97%); second doses (95%)
- West Coast DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (91%)
- Canterbury DHB: First doses (99%); second doses (98%)
- South Canterbury DHB: First doses (95%); second doses (94%)
- Southern DHB: First doses (98%); second doses (96%)
Hospitalisations
- Cases in hospital: 14; North Shore: 3; Middlemore: 4; Auckland: 3; Waikato: 1; Rotorua: 2; Christchurch: 1
- Average age of current hospitalisations: 62
- Cases in ICU or HDU: 1 (Rotorua)
- Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region wards only excluding cases recorded in emergency departments): Unvaccinated or not eligible (1 case / 14%); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (N/A cases / 0%); fully vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (5 cases / 71%), unknown (1 case / 14%).
Cases
- Seven day rolling average of community cases: 170
- Seven day rolling average of border cases: 38
- Number of new community cases: 188
- Number of new cases identified at the border: 27
- Location of new community cases: Northland (16), Auckland (117), Waikato (15), Tairāwhiti (1), Lakes (12), Bay of Plenty (20), Hawke’s Bay (1), Mid Central (1), Hutt Valley (2), Canterbury (3)
- Number of community cases (total): 13,266 (in current community outbreaks)
- Cases epidemiologically linked (total): 9,681
- Number of active cases (total): 1,865 (cases identified in the past 21 days and not yet classified as recovered)
- Confirmed cases (total): 17,612
Contacts
- Number of active contacts being managed (total): 5,183
- Percentage who has received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements): 79%
- Percentage who has returned at least one result: 72%
Tests
- Number of tests total (last 24 hours): 12,830
- Tests rolling average (last 7 days): 19,266
- Auckland tests total (last 24 hours): 6,431.
Wastewater
- No unusual detections to report.
NZ COVID Tracer
- Poster scans in the 24 hours to midday yesterday: 2,011,848
- Manual diary entries in the 24 hours to midday: 35,501
My Vaccine Pass
- Total issued to date: 5,067,840
- Total yesterday: 9,840
1:08pm - The ministry said that there were 24,935 booster doses administered on Waitangi Day, taking the total to date to 1,586,950.
Also, 1,706 paediatric doses were given yesterday, bringing the total to 199,174.
"With Omicron in New Zealand, one of the best things you can do is get your booster as soon as it is due," the ministry said.
"Boosters lower your chances of getting very sick and being hospitalised. Being boosted also helps slow the spread of the virus. If you’re over 18 and your booster is due, please get it now.
"Anyone with any cold or flu symptoms that could be COVID-19 is asked to get a test and isolate at home until a negative result is returned.
"The most common early symptoms of the Omicron variant are a sore or scratchy throat, and a runny nose. Even if you develop a small sniffle, please get a test."
1:07pm - The Ministry of Health has announced 188 new COVID-19 cases with 14 people in hospital and one in ICU on Monday.
Of the new community cases, 117 are in Auckland, 20 in Bay of Plenty, 16 in Northland, 15 in Waikato, 12 in Lakes, three in Canterbury, two in Hutt Valley, one in Tairāwhiti, one in Hawke’s Bay and one in Mid Central.
The ministry announced there are 14 people in hospital with one in ICU or HDU in Rotorua Hospital.
Of the 14 people in hospital: four in Middlemore, three are in North Shore, three in Auckland City, two in Rotorua, one in Waikato and one in Christchurch.
There are 27 new COVID cases recorded at the border in Managed Isolation and Quarantine.
12:45pm - 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.
12:16pm - A second Waikato school has informed students they need to self-isolate after a pupil tested positive for COVID-19.
Rototuna Junior and Senior High School informed students and parents of the positive case on the school's Facebook page.
"I would like to inform everyone that we have a confirmed positive COVID case at Rototuna Junior High.
"The case was infectious at school on Tuesday and Wednesday, February 1 & 2 only (not Thursday and Friday). We are working with the MOE to confirm close and casual contacts. Please check your emails over the next few hours to get this information.
If you do not hear from us tonight your child is not a close contact."
12:10pm - The Ministry of Health has announced three 'high risk' exposure times at two different locations of interest in Hamilton.
The locations are:
- Islamic Centre Masjid Frankton, Hamilton - Sunday, 30 January from 8pm to 9:30pm and Monday, 31 January from 8:15pm to 10:15pm
- Private Event: Guru Nanak Sikh Temple Puketaha, Hamilton - Monday, 31 January from 8:45am to 5:15pm
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".
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice - and updates to existing locations of interest - click here.
12:02pm - Over 80 students and staff from a Waikato school are currently self-isolating after a Year 7 pupil tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
In a Facebook post on the school's page, they said, "unfortunately a Y7 student who was at school on Thursday has tested positive for COVID. Please refer to the school app for details".
The school is advising all Year 7 students and their staff who were at school on Thursday to "test immediately, isolate (no visitors) and follow MOE guidelines as per App message".
The school also said any secondary contacts must isolate and follow guidelines until the household 'close contact' returns a negative day 5 (this Tuesday) test.
"I am disappointed for all the families who heard mid way through the long weekend break that they needed to return home and isolate," said Brooker according to NZ Herald.
11:40am - In Victoria, they have recorded another 8,275 new COVID-19 cases and seven coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours.
Victoria Health said that 638 people are in hospital, down from 652 on Sunday.
There are also 72 people in ICU down from 73 on Sunday with 26 patients on a ventilator.
11:32am - In Australia, New South Wales has announced 7,437 new COVID-19 cases and 14 coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours hours.
The cases announced on Monday is the fourth straight day case numbers have dropped.
NSW Health said hospital admissions have also declined with 2,099 people in hospital. Of these, 137 are in the ICU.
This is 222 less than Sunday, with 10 fewer in the ICU.
11:17am - The Ministry of Health has announced one new 'high risk' location of interest in Wellington.
The location is:
- One80 Restaurant, Copthorne Hotel, Oriental Bay - Saturday, 5 February from 9am to 10:30am
The ministry asks anyone at the venue 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."
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice - and updates to existing locations of interest - click here.
11:15am - ACT has called on the Government to change the outdoor event rules calling the current regulations "arbitrary".
Under red of the traffic light setting, venues can only have a maximum of 100 people with 1-meter distancing required.
"What's nuts is that the Government has set the same rules for indoor and outdoor events and for venues of different sizes," ACT leader David Seymour says.
The current rules will see Super Rugby Pacific played without crowds while hospitality and the events sector take another hit after the Delta lockdown in 2021.
ACT has called on the Government to make "sensible changes" to prevent more "economic pain".
"There's much less risk of getting Omicron if you're in a large outdoor venue, so it makes absolutely no sense to treat them the same - it's anti-science," Seymour says.
"ACT has said all along that we need risk-proportionate rules - but here we are, two years into a pandemic, and the Government is still making one-size-fits-all rules.
"Instead of setting an arbitrary, hard limit of 100 for outdoors events, the Government could make a sensible change and allow numbers to be based on the size of the space.
"In fact, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has given just this advice to Economic Development Minister Stuart Nash.
"It said that, instead of hard limits on numbers, event organisers could use distancing requirements appropriate to the size of the space - 1 metre for Orange and 2 metres for Red.
"The costs of preventing vaccinated, socially-distanced people coming together in outdoor venues to watch events surely outweigh the benefits.
"The rest of the world is opening up and we need to as well."
11:10am - Experts are worried about COVID fatigue and are warning Kiwis not to take Omicron lightly as testing numbers drop.
Ministry of Health figures showed there were 100,000 fewer COVID tests completed in the week following the Omicron community outbreak compared to the Delta outbreak in August.
The figures show that 128,855 tests were completed across New Zealand between January 24 and 30 - when Omicron was confirmed to be in the community.
This is a significant drop from August - when the Delta outbreak started - when 234,405 tests were completed.
University of Auckland public health professor Dr Collin Tukuitonga called the reduction in testing numbers "dramatic", NZ Herald reported.
"I would have thought at this stage, while the [case] numbers are still not out of control, we should be testing," he said.
"Unless we're promoting it and creating options where people can get tested, it won't go up on its own."
Epidemiologist Michael Baker said New Zealanders may feel less vulnerable to the threat of Omicron.
"Some people may have thought: 'It's not a matter of life or death if I get identified as a case anymore'", Baker said.
"They might feel it's less critical to know if they have a mild infection of Omicron."
Fellow epidemiologist Rod Jackson told Newshub on Sunday that New Zealand will perform better than any other country against Omicron, but had strong words for those on the bench - the unvaccinated - saying the variant shouldn't be underestimated.
"The commentaries out there are that Omicron is significantly less severe than Delta - not true for the unvaccinated; in fact, it's worse for the unvaccinated, and the reason is because it's going to come really rapidly," he explains.
11:04am - Kia ora, good morning, and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the COVID-19 Omicron outbreak for Monday, February 7.
