February 3 2022
The Government is reopening the border – starting with Kiwis coming from Australia from February 27 - with the MIQ system to end for all but "high-risk" unvaccinated travellers.
There are 147 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today and 44 at the border, the Ministry of Health has announced.
Today's new cases are in Northland (14), Auckland (90), Waikato (15), Lakes (9), Bay of Plenty (8), Hawke's Bay (7) and the Capital and Coast region (4).
The seven day rolling average for community cases is now 113, and the seven day rolling average of border cases is 47.
Thirteen people are in hospital with Covid-19, but none are in intensive care. Of those in hospital, one is in North Shore, five are at Middlemore, two are in Auckland, three are in Rotorua, one is in Hawke's Bay and one is in Wellington. The average age of those in hospital is 56.
This morning Capital and Coast District Health Board confirmed that a person tested positive for Covid-19 at Wellington Regional Hospital yesterday.
The person had turned up at the hospital for an issue not related to Covid but was tested because they had symptoms. They were now isolating on a ward set up to manage Covid-19 patients and investigations were underway to determine the source of their infection, the health board said.
Those heading away for the Waitangi long weekend have been urged by the Ministry of Health to plan for the potential of having to self-isolate or to stay longer in paid accommodation than planned.
"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 accommodation and changing your travel plans," the ministry said in a statement.
"There are limited alternative accommodation options for those who are unable to safely isolate in their own homes or if they have travelled elsewhere, and as case numbers rise, the accommodation will be focused on those with high needs."
Anyone with any Covid-19 symptoms should not travel and should get tested and isolate until they get a negative result back, the ministry said.
The most common early symptoms of Omicron were a sore or scratchy throat and a runny nose.
"All travellers should wear a mask in indoor settings, physical distance, and scan in using the NZ Covid Tracer app," the ministry said.
Today's cases
There are 14 new cases in Northland, across Kerikeri, Kaitaia, and Whangārei. Nine are linked to existing cases and investigations are underway to determine links for two cases.
Three of the cases reside in Northland but were originally allocated as Auckland cases. The people are being transferred for management to the Northland public health unit. Of these three cases, two are linked and one is yet to be connected to the outbreak.
Meanwhile, there are 90 new community cases in Auckland as health and welfare providers helped 1534 people in the region to isolate at home, including 568 cases.
There are 15 new cases in Waikato and most so far have been linked to previously reported cases.
In the Lakes DHB region, there are nine new cases. Eight of those cases are in the Rotorua district and one is in the Taupō district. One case has not been linked to existing cases.
There are eight cases to report in the Bay of Plenty today; five are in Tauranga, one is in the Western Bay of Plenty and two are in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
Seven of the new Bay of Plenty cases are linked to existing cases and one is yet to be connected to the outbreak.
In the Hawke's Bay, there are seven new cases. Five of these cases are linked to existing cases while the remaining two are yet to be connected to the outbreak.
In the Wellington region, two new cases are in Wellington and two are in Porirua. Three are linked to existing cases and the fourth person's links are yet to be established.
Today's update comes as the Government announced it was reopening the border – starting with Kiwis coming from Australia from the end of the month.
In a speech to Business NZ in Auckland this morning, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern outlined the five-stage process of reopening the borders.
The changes were announced nine days ago by Ardern at a press conference and they affect those visiting food and drink businesses and other close proximity settings, as well as some primary and secondary students and workplaces with vaccine mandates in place.
One of the new rules is that a face mask now needs to be an actual mask, meaning a covering that is attached to the head by loops around the ears or head - scarfs, bandannas and even T-shirts no longer suffice.
Ardern said the new mask rules would further help the "slow down of Omicron".
Changes to the mask-wearing protocol come into effect from 11.59pm tonight. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Within just a month of the first community exposure to Omicron in New Zealand, the variant has already become the dominant strain of Covid-19.
New modelling predicted that New Zealand could hit 400 daily cases by the end of the week.
Vaccination rates
Of the eligible people in New Zealand, 96 per cent have had their first dose of the vaccine and 94 per cent have had two doses, while 70 per cent due for their booster shot have now had it.
Yesterday, 6,230 booster doses were administered - taking the total to date to 1,399,350.
Of children aged 5-11, 39 per cent have now had a dose of the paediatric Covid-19 vaccine. 5,725 paediatric doses were given yesterday, bringing the total to 183,706.
For Māori aged 5-11, this figure is 21 per cent, and for Pacific peoples of this age cohort, it is 28 per cent.
For Māori, 89.9 per cent have had one dose and 85 per cent have received two doses.
For Pacific peoples, 97 per cent have had one dose and 94 per cent have had two.
The Waikato region is inching closer to reaching 90 per cent first doses of Covid-19 vaccinations for Māori - and is expected to reach the milestone today.
The Ministry of Health said Waikato was only 25 first doses off becoming the 11th DHB area to achieve this vaccine milestone.
The ministry encouraged people who were eligible for their booster to come forward. More than 1 million people from tomorrow will be eligible after the booster interval changes come into force.
"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."
