There are 145 new cases of Covid-19 announced today. One person has died, 77 people are in hospital, with eight people in ICU, including one in Rotorua Hospital ICU.

'Sadly today we are reporting the death of a patient with COVID-19 at Auckland City Hospital,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

'The patient, who was in their 80s, was admitted to hospital on 17 November. Our thoughts are with their whânau and friends at this very sad time.”

There are four new cases today in the Bay of Plenty. All four have been linked to previously confirmed cases.

One case is based in Kawerau, one is in Tauranga and two are in Te Puke. The person based in Kawerau is a close contact of a previously confirmed case, and has been in isolation for the past week.

There were 17,899 first and second vaccine doses administered on Friday, made up of 5,679 first doses and 12,222 second doses.

The Ministry of Health has now issued more than 2.1 million My Vaccine Passes.

'We wish to thank everyone who has already got theirs for their efforts,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson. 'You can request a My Vaccine Pass from the website.”

To date, 92 per cent of eligible people in New Zealand have had their first dose and 85 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Today New Zealand Pacific communities have reached some key vaccination milestones. Ninety per cent of Pacific people in New Zealand have officially had their first dose, and 80 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile Capital & Coast DHB is sitting at 89.6 per cent fully vaccinated - only 1,131 shy of the 90 per cent milestone.

Eleven of our DHBs have reached 80 per cent first doses for Maori.

The Ministry of Health has now issued more than 2.1 million My Vaccine Passes and we wish to thank everyone who has already got theirs for their efforts.

You can request a My Vaccine Pass from the website.

Bay of Plenty
Investigations are continuing into the four new cases reported in the Bay of Plenty today, and while public health staff don't expect a large number of locations of interest as a result, if and when they're identified, they will be added to the Ministry of Health's website. This is updated regularly.

Bay of Plenty DHB is opening a pop up testing site from tomorrow, Sunday November 28 at Waitaha Hauora/Nga Kakano Family Health Services at the Sikh Temple in Te Puke.

The DHB has also been working with local providers in Kawerau to provide more testing capacity for the town. Additional testing is available today until 6pm and again from 10am until 6pm tomorrow at the Te Puna Ora o Mataatua, Ron Hardie Recreation Centre carpark in Kawerau.

Please check the DHB's website for further details.

Two of the three other cases are also close contacts of previously confirmed cases and have been in isolation.

Public health staff want to reiterate the message to Bay of Plenty locals to get tested if you're feeling unwell and get your first dose of the vaccine if you haven't already.

Details of testing stations in Bay of Plenty can be found on the Healthpoint website.

Omicron variant
Health officials are currently assessing the latest international information on the new B.1.1529 variant which the World Health Organization has named Omicron.

This particular strain is in its infancy and as with any emerging developments to do with COVID-19 we are closely watching and monitoring evidence and countries' responses.

'We will advise on any potential impacts for New Zealand, noting that we remain in a good position to minimise the impact of any new variants with isolation and routine testing of international arrivals,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

Waikato
There are 13 new cases to report in Waikato today - six are in Te Kūiti, three in Huntly, two in Hamilton, one in Te Kauwhata, and one in Ōtorohanga. All are under investigation for links to previous cases.

There are six pop-up and dedicated testing sites operating across Waikato today in Hamilton, Ōtorohanga, Thames, Huntly, and Te Kûiti. For more information, visit the DHB's website.

Health staff in the region are now supporting 128 cases to isolate at home.

This weekend in the Waikato there is a big push to encourage unvaccinated Māori to get their jab. The ‘Weekend wero' will encouraging kaumatua and their whānau to get vaccinated together. People can go to around 25 events across the takiwā this weekend without a booking.

Across the different locations there will be free food, entertainment, spot prizes and more.

New case identified at the border

The two cases who travelled from Romania were in a travel bubble together

Today's cases
Today the Ministry of Health has announced new community cases in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Canterbury.

'The two cases we're reporting in Northland today came in after our 9am cut off and will be officially added to the case numbers tomorrow,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

'The case we're reporting in Canterbury was announced in yesterday's statement but, as indicated, is being officially added to the case numbers today.”

There are no additional cases to report today in Wairarapa, Wellington, Hawke's Bay, MidCentral, Lakes or Taranaki.

'One previously reported border case has been reclassified as under investigation so today's net increase is 148 cases.”

Information on today's cases is included in the regional updates below. Anyone living in these areas, or elsewhere in New Zealand, with symptoms, no matter how mild, is urged to get tested – even if they are vaccinated – and remain isolated until they return a negative result. A full list of testing centres can be found on the Healthpoint website.

Hospitalisations
'Today we are reporting one person in Rotorua Hospital's ICU,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson. 'This is the same person we had been reporting earlier in the week. They were mistakenly not included in yesterday's numbers.

'We have made a small update to our reporting of the vaccination status of current hospitalisations in the northern region wards. This is because advice from the Covid-19 Vaccine Technical Advisory Group, based on the most up-to-date evidence, the period of time required to be classified as fully immunised has been amended to seven days, as opposed to 14 days.”

NZ COVID Tracer App
Poster scans have reached a record.

3,223,695 poster scans were uploaded in the period between 1pm on Thursday and 10.50am Friday.

'This is an incredible effort and the Ministry wants to reiterate its thanks to everyone who scanned in using their device yesterday, and to everyone who continues to scan in.

'We encourage all New Zealanders to keep a record of where they have been. Use of the NZ COVID Tracer app or a manual diary remain critical tools in helping to speed up our contact tracing efforts and stop the spread of the virus.”

Regional updates
'We're asking anyone in the following regions with symptoms – no matter how mild – to please get tested, even if you're vaccinated,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson. 'Please remain isolated until you return a negative test result. And if you're not vaccinated, your DHB or local health provider will have plenty of opportunities to make this happen.”

Northland
There are two new cases to report in Ruakaka today.

'These were reported after our 9am cut-off and will be officially added to the case numbers tomorrow.”

In addition, a case previously reported in Auckland has been reclassified as a Northland case. They are currently isolating in Kaikohe.

The two new cases in Ruakaka are linked to an existing case and have been isolating.

Anyone in Ruakaka with symptoms – no matter how mild – is encouraged to get a test. A pop-up testing site is continuing to operate at the Ruakaka Racecourse over the weekend and is open at the following times:

· 9am-3pm Saturday
· 10am-2pm Sunday

Testing and vaccination sites open in Northland can be found on the Northland DHB website.

New locations of interest in Northland continue to be added to the Ministry website

Auckland
Today, there are 127 new cases to report in Auckland. 

There continues to be daily reviews of testing numbers and testing locations to ensure good coverage of risk areas.

The Tauhoa Pop-up Community Testing Centre in North Kaipara is open from 2pm to 7pm today, with vaccinations available, at Tauhoa Community Hall (opposite the school).
 
Health staff are now supporting 3,993 people to isolate at home, including 1,078 cases.