Today we are reporting 8,150 community cases, 368 hospitalisations and 11 deaths.

The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers today is 7,308 – last Wednesday, it was 8,024.

Omicron BA.2.12.1 update

We are today reporting our first case of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1 in a community case, without a clear link to the border, in Hawke’s Bay from a test result returned on 10 May 2022.

This Omicron subvariant is prevalent in the USA and has been detected at our border for many weeks - there have been 29 imported cases reported since April, so its movement into the community is not unexpected.

Emerging data suggests BA.2.12.1 is marginally more transmissible than the subvariants currently circulating in Aotearoa-New Zealand. Our genomic surveillance (genomes and wastewater) remains in place to study any new variants and track their spread.

The public health settings already in place to manage other Omicron variants are assessed to be appropriate for managing subvariants present in our community and no changes are required.

Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 update

Meanwhile, the Omicron BA.4 and/or BA.5 subvariants have been detected in wastewater samples at Rosedale on Auckland’s North Shore and in Gisborne.

The presence of these subvariants in the community is also not unexpected.

The BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants are being monitored by the World Health Organization; to date, compared to BA.2, there is clinical data to suggest an increased transmissibility but no data suggesting it causes more severe illness.

As with all variants of Omicron, the public health advice remains the same. Getting your booster remains one of the best defences against COVID-19. Wear a mask indoors, stay home if you’re unwell, get tested if you’re symptomatic, and get vaccinated.

The vast majority of recently sequenced cases in New Zealand continue to be of the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant, with small number of cases with the BA.1 sub-variant.

We are continuing to monitor transmission of all variants across the country and internationally. These latest detections emphasise the importance of continued wastewater testing, as increasingly ESR sequencing is able to refine what its testing detects. The sequencing can determine that either BA.4 or BA.5 subvariant or both may be present but is not able to be more specific at this stage.

COVID-19 deaths

Today we are sadly reporting the deaths of 11 people with COVID-19. The deaths being reported today are for people who have died in the past 10 days, apart from one death on 6 May and one death on 11 April.

Delays to reporting can be associated with people dying with COVID-19, rather than from COVID-19, and COVID being discovered only after they have died.

These deaths take the total number of publicly reported deaths with COVID-19 to 1,086 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 10.

Of the people whose deaths we are reporting today; two were from the Auckland region, one was from Waikato, two were from Taranaki, one was from Hawke’s Bay, one was from MidCentral, three were from Canterbury, and one was from Southern.

One person was aged under 10, one was in their 30s, one was in their 60s, one was in their 70s, three were in their 80s, and four were aged over 90.

Of these people, six were female and five were male.

This is a very sad time for whānau and friends and our thoughts and condolences are with them.

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

* Please note that four previously announced deaths have been removed from our totals. One was reclassified as not a COVID-19 case and three duplicates were identified.

Vaccinations administered in New Zealand  

• Vaccines administered to date: 4,027,303 first doses; 3,979,246 second doses; 32,314 third primary doses; 2,652,745 booster doses: 262,597 paediatric first doses and 122,808 paediatric second doses  
• Vaccines administered yesterday: 68 first doses; 62 second doses; 22 third primary doses; 829 booster doses; 44 paediatric first doses and 130 paediatric second doses  

People vaccinated  

• All Ethnicities (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 4,054,759 first dose (96.3%); 4,006,006 second dose (95.2%), 2,645,780 boosted (70.7% of those eligible)  
• Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 521,243 first dose (91.3%); 504,433 second dose (88.3%), 237,277 boosted (53.5% of those eligible)  
• Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 282,051 first dose (98.4%); 277,236 second dose (96.7%), 141,705 boosted (56.4% of those eligible)  
• 5 to 11-year-olds all ethnicities: 259,577 first dose (54.5%); 119,820 second dose (25.2%)  
• 5 to 11-year-olds - Māori: 40,949 first dose (35.4%); 13,841 second dose (12%)  
• 5 to 11-year-olds - Pacific Peoples: 23,621 first dose (47.8%); 7,134 second dose (14.4%)  
• Note that the number for “People vaccinated” differs slightly from “Vaccines administered” as it includes those that have been vaccinated overseas.