Māori across Aotearoa will today reach 90% partial vaccination (first dose). As of 11am this morning, they were just 142 doses away from reaching this important milestone.

With Omicron in New Zealand, one of the best things you can do is get your booster as soon as it is due. From today, 1 million people are now eligible for their booster after the interval was reduced from four to three months.

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.

Testing

The Ministry is reminding that only those who have COVID-19 symptoms – or have been at a location of interest at the relevant time – need 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. If you have any of these symptoms, please get a test.

Waitangi weekend reminder

We are reminding you that if you are going away this Waitangi weekend, you should have plans in place in the event you are identified as a close contact, get COVID-19 symptoms, or find out you have COVID-19.

You are likely to need to self-isolate wherever you become a close contact or test positive, so there may be extra costs involved in paying for additional accommodation and changing your travel plans.

COVID-19 vaccine update 

• Vaccines administered to date (percentage of eligible people): 4,045,772 first doses (96%); 3,969,817 second doses (94%); 1,445,598 booster doses (71%)
• Vaccines administered yesterday: 870 first doses; 1,817 second doses; 4,501 paediatric doses; 45,931 booster doses. 
• Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 513,799 first doses (89.9%); 487,983 second doses (85%).
• Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 277,873 first doses (97%); 270,147 second doses (94%). 
• Paediatric vaccines administered to date (percentage of 5-11-year-olds): 188,220 first doses (40%) 
• Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 5-11): 25,350 first doses (22%) 
• Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 5-11): 14,411 first doses (29%) 

Vaccination rates for all DHBs (percentage of eligible people aged 12 +) 

• Northland DHB: First doses (89.8%); 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 (90%) 
• MidCentral DHB: First doses (96%); second doses (94%) 
• Tairawhiti DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (89%) 
• Whanganui DHB: First doses (92%); second doses (89.6%) 
• Hawke’s Bay: First doses (97%); 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 (95%) 
• West Coast DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (90%) 
• Canterbury DHB: First doses (99%); second doses (98%) 
• South Canterbury DHB: First doses (95%); second doses (93%) 
• Southern DHB: First doses (98%); second doses (96%) 

Hospitalisations 

• Cases in hospital: 9; North Shore: 2; Middlemore: 1; Auckland: 2; Rotorua: 2; Hawkes Bay: 1; Christchurch: 1
• Average age of current hospitalisations: 52 
• Cases in ICU or HDU: 1
• Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region wards only): For privacy reasons, we are unable to report this information when hospitalisations are below five.  

Cases 

• Seven day rolling average of community cases: 128
• Seven day rolling average of border cases: 49
• Number of new community cases: 209
• Number of new cases identified at the border: 64
• Location of new community cases: Northland (21), Auckland (99), Waikato (51), Lakes (15), Bay of Plenty (15), Hawke’s Bay (3), Tairāwhiti (4), MidCentral (1)
• Number of community cases (total): 12,630 (in current community outbreaks) 
• Cases epidemiologically linked (total): 9,355
• Number of active cases (total): 1,298 (cases identified in the past 21 days and not yet classified as recovered)
• Confirmed cases (total): 16,901

Contacts 

• Number of active contacts being managed (total): 5,253
• Percentage who has received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements): 76% 
• Percentage who has returned at least one result: 73% 

Tests 

• Number of tests total (last 24 hours): 20,525
• Tests rolling average (last 7 days): 19,779
• Auckland tests total (last 24 hours): 10,383

Wastewater 

• There was positive detection of the virus in a sample taken from Whatuwhiwhi on 31 January. There was also a positive wastewater sample collected from Mangawhai on 1 February. Anyone in these area with symptoms is asked to please get a test. For testing locations in Northland, visit the Healthpoint website.

NZ COVID Tracer 

• Poster scans in the 24 hours to midday yesterday: 2,382,036
• Manual diary entries in the 24 hours to midday:  44,476

My Vaccine Pass 

• Total issued to date: 5,029,692
• Total yesterday: 15,703