Today we are reporting 5,656 community cases, 466 hospitalisations and six deaths.

Today’s seven-day rolling average of case numbers is 7,414 – last Sunday it was 8,435.

Border case with Omicron BA.4 variant

A person who has travelled from overseas to New Zealand has been confirmed as having the BA.4 variant of Omicron. This is the first known detection of the variant in New Zealand.

The person arrived in New Zealand from South Africa on 22 April, returned a positive RAT the following day and a positive PCR test on 24 April. Whole genome sequencing was undertaken as part of ongoing border surveillance for emerging variants and subsequently confirmed the BA.4 variant.

The person followed all testing and reporting requirements, allowing this new sub-variant to be identified quickly, and has been isolating at home.

BA.4 has been reported in Southern Africa and Europe, and a case was reported in New South Wales a few days ago. The arrival of this sub-variant in New Zealand is not unexpected. At this stage, the public health settings already in place to manage other Omicron variants are assessed to be appropriate for managing BA.4 and no changes are required.

The BA.4 variant is one of the different Omicron subvariants being monitored by the World Health Organization.

There is no evidence to date that BA.4 is more transmissible or causes more severe disease than other Omicron lineages, in particular the BA.2 Omicron sub-variant that is causing the vast majority of infections in New Zealand. It can take weeks or months to identify the severity of each new variant or sub-variant, so the Ministry of Health will continue to monitor the emerging evidence closely.

Two other sub-variants of Omicron – the BA.2.12.1 and the BA 2.12.2 have also been detected in two returnees for the first time in New Zealand from travellers arriving on 11 and 15 April. Neither sub-variant is currently regarded as being of concern.

COVID-19 deaths

Today we are sadly reporting the deaths of six people with COVID-19. The deaths being reported today include people who have died over the previous three days.

These deaths take the total number of publicly reported deaths with COVID-19 to 750 and the 7-day rolling average of reported deaths is 11.

Of the people whose deaths we are reporting today, one person was from Northland, one from Taranaki, two were from Waikato, and two from Canterbury.

Three were in their 70s and three were in their 80s.

Four were women and two were men.

Out of respect, we will be making no further comment. 

Vaccinations administered in New Zealand  

• Vaccines administered to date: 4,026,607 first doses; 3,977,968 second doses; 31,788 third primary doses; 2,630,365 booster doses: 261,588 paediatric first doses and 116,171 paediatric second doses  
• Vaccines administered yesterday: 26 first doses; 69 second doses; 11 third primary doses; 1,431 booster doses; 107 paediatric first doses and 1,127 paediatric second doses  

People vaccinated

• All Ethnicities (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 4,056,329 first dose (96.4%); 4,007,080 second dose (95.2%), 2,626,415 boosted (71% of those eligible)  
• Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 521,026 first dose (91.2%); 504,054 second dose (88.3%), 234,511 boosted (54.7% of those eligible)  
• Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 281,874 first dose (98.3%); 276,987 second dose (96.6%), 139,904 boosted (57% of those eligible)  
• 5 to 11-year-olds all ethnicities: 258,808 first dose (54.3%); 113,430 second dose (23.8%)  
• 5 to 11-year-olds - Māori: 40,802 first dose (35.3%); 12,841 second dose (11.1%)  
• 5 to 11-year-olds - Pacific Peoples: 23,489 first dose (47.6%); 6,496 second dose (13.2%)  

Note that the number for “People vaccinated” differs slightly from “Vaccines administered” as it includes those that have been vaccinated overseas.

Vaccination rates for all DHBs*   

• Northland DHB: first dose (90.1%); second dose (88%); boosted (67.7%)  
• Auckland DHB: first dose (99.2%); second dose (98.3%); boosted (73%)  
• Counties Manukau DHB: first dose (96.2%); second dose (95%); boosted (65.9%)  
• Waitemata DHB: first dose (96.5%); second dose (95.6%); boosted (70.8%)  
• Waikato DHB: first dose (95.1%); second dose (93.6%); boosted (66.6%)  
• Bay of Plenty DHB: first dose (95.1%); second dose (93.4%); boosted (65.9%)  
• Lakes DHB: first dose (93.2%); second dose (91.4%); boosted (66.3%)  
• MidCentral DHB: first dose (96.4%); second dose (95.2%); boosted (72.1%)  
• Tairāwhiti DHB: first dose (93.2%); second dose (91%); boosted (65.7%)  
• Whanganui DHB: first dose (91.9%); second dose (90.4%); boosted (71.5%)  
• Hawke’s Bay DHB: first dose (97.2%); second dose (95.6%); boosted (69.8%)  
• Taranaki DHB: first dose (94.6%); second dose (93.3%); boosted (68.1%)  
• Wairarapa DHB: first dose (96.4%); second dose (95%); boosted (72.9%)  
• Capital & Coast DHB: first dose (98.5%); second dose (97.8%); boosted (79.4%)  
• Hutt Valley DHB: first dose (96.6%); second dose (95.7%); boosted (75%)  
• Nelson Marlborough DHB: first dose (96.4%); second dose (95.2%); boosted (73.3%)  
• West Coast DHB: first dose (92.7%); second dose (91.3%); boosted (71.6%)  
• Canterbury DHB: first dose (99.7%); second dose (98.9%); boosted (74.4%)  
• South Canterbury DHB: first dose (94.8%); second dose (93.7%); boosted (74.4%)  
• Southern DHB: first dose (98.5%); second dose (97.4%); boosted (73.2%)

*Partially and second doses percentages are for those 12+. Boosted percentages are for 18+ who have become eligible 3 months after having their second dose

Percentages are based on 2020 HSU data - a health-specific population denominator. As the population continues to change over time, coverage rates can exceed 100%.

Hospitalisations

• Cases in hospital: total number 466: Northland: 29; Waitemata: 75; Counties Manukau: 64; Auckland: 97; Waikato: 37; Bay of Plenty: 19; Lakes: 2; Tairāwhiti: 1; Hawke’s Bay: 11; Taranaki: 7; Whanganui: 3; MidCentral: 5; Wairarapa: 3; Hutt Valley: 6; Capital and Coast: 12; Nelson Marlborough: 6; Canterbury: 60; South Canterbury: 3; West Coast: 1; Southern: 25
• *Average age of current hospitalisations: 60
• Cases in ICU or HDU: 16
• Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region only, excluding Emergency Departments): Unvaccinated or not eligible (41 cases / 16.14%); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (5 cases / 1.97%); double vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (75 cases / 29.53%); Received booster at least 7 days before being reported as a case (125 cases / 49.21%); unknown (8 cases / 3.15%)

*Please note the average age of current hospitalisations is for the Northern Region admissions only at this stage. This data is recorded and extracted from the same source as the vaccination status of patients in Northern Region hospitals.

We are currently working on a data solution which would include the average age of current hospitalisations from additional DHBs.

Cases

• Seven day rolling average of community cases: 7,414
• Seven day rolling average (as at same day last week): 8,435
• Number of new community cases: 5,656
• Number of new community cases (PCR): 169
• Number of new community cases (RAT): 5,487

• Location of new community cases (PCR & RAT): Northland (139), Auckland (606), Waikato (341), Bay of Plenty (175), Lakes (116), Hawke’s Bay (149), MidCentral (202), Whanganui (64), Taranaki (149), Tairāwhiti (99), Wairarapa (58), Capital and Coast (360), Hutt Valley (152), Nelson Marlborough (222), Canterbury (931), South Canterbury (118), Southern (625), West Coast (74), Unknown (6)

• Number of new cases identified at the border: 62
• Number of active community cases (total): 51,891 (cases identified in the past 7 days and not yet classified as recovered) 
• Confirmed cases (total): 933,464

Please note, the Ministry of Health’s daily reported cases may differ slightly from those reported at a DHB or local public health unit level. This is because of different reporting cut off times and the assignment of cases between regions, for example when a case is tested outside their usual region of residence. Total numbers will always be the formal daily case tally as reported to the WHO.

Tests

• Number of PCR tests total (last 24 hours): 2,523
• Number of Rapid Antigen Tests reported total (last 24 hours): 10,430
• PCR tests rolling average (last 7 days): 3,218
• Number of Rapid Antigen Tests dispatched (last 7 days as of 29 April 2022): 1.4 million