There is one new case of Covid-19 in the Bay of Plenty today and 172 cases in total across the country.

The case in the Western Bay of Plenty is a household contact of a previously reported case and was already self-isolating at home when they tested positive.

There are no further cases to report today associated with Te Akau ki Pāpāmoa School, but the assessment by Toi Te Ora Public Health is that further cases associated with the school are likely, says a statement from the Ministry of Health.

There is one person in hospital with Covid in the Bay of Plenty. A total number of 86 people are in hospital with nine of those in ICU.

Those in hospital are in North Shore (14), Auckland (41), Middlemore (28), Waikato (2) and the one in BOP.

Two new cases have been reported in Lakes District. One of these cases is in Rotorua and is a household contact of a previously reported case.

They were already self-isolating at home when they tested positive.

Northland, Auckland, Waikato, and the Nelson/Tasman region are the other locations of today's new cases.

Two new cases have been identified at the border.

The ministry is asking anyone in New Zealand with symptoms – no matter how mild – to get tested, even if they're vaccinated.

'Please remain isolated until you return a negative test result,” says the ministry.

'If you are not vaccinated, now is the time, as vaccination is number one defence against Covid-19.”
Testing and vaccination centre locations nationwide can be found on the Healthpoint website.

Regional updates

Northland

Today we are reporting two new cases in Northland, one in Kaitaia and one in Kawakawa. Both are close contacts of known cases.

The Kaitaia case was in isolation when tested and investigations into the Kawakawa case are underway.

There was an unexpected wastewater detection in a sample from Ahipara taken on November 25.

Although this may be connected to cases isolating in the area, people living in the area are urged to get tested if they have even mild symptoms.

Auckland

Today, there are 142 new cases being reported in Auckland.

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

Health staff are now supporting 3,634 people to isolate at home, including 910 cases.

Waikato

There are 15 new cases in Waikato being reported today. Of those, six are in Kawhia, three in Te Kūiti, two in Hamilton, two in Ngāruawāhia, one in Huntly, and one is under investigation.

Of today's cases, 11 have been linked to existing cases.

There are six pop-up and dedicated testing sites operating across the Waikato today in Hamilton, Te Kūiti, Taumarunui, and Ōtorohanga.

There are two Covid -19 positive patients in Waikato Hospital ICU.

Waikato public health staff are now caring for 113 cases in the community.

MidCentral

We are officially reporting one case in Manawatu today that was announced in yesterday's update but came in after the cut off time.

Public health staff are continuing to interview the person who is understood to live in Waikato and work in Manawatū.

If any locations of interest are identified, they will be added to the Ministry's locations of interest page.

Nelson-Tasman

There are ten new cases in Nelson-Tasman today, but one will be officially added to tomorrow's figures as it came in after the cut off time.

This takes the number of active cases in the region to 14. These cases are made up of two clusters, with 11 in one and three in the other. A possible connection between the two clusters is being investigated.

Two schools in Nelson, Enner Glynn School and Broadgreen Intermediate, have had cases. Both schools have temporarily closed while a risk assessment is undertaken and close contacts are identified. Next steps will then be agreed with the Ministry of Education.

Four new locations of interest in Nelson were added to the Ministry's website yesterday afternoon. People in the Nelson-Tasman region are asked to check this page as it is updated regularly.

Testing is available in Nelson-Tasman today at:

• Saxton Field parking area, Suffolk Rd, Stoke from 9am to 8pm
• Trafalgar Centre carpark, Paru Paru Rd, Nelson from 9am to 2pm
• Richmond Showgrounds, 359 Lower Queen St, Richmond from 9am to 8pm
• Motueka Recreation Centre: Old Wharf Rd, Motueka from 9am to 5pm

My Vaccine Pass

More than 3 million My Vaccine Passes have now been issued. For anyone that is fully vaccinated and has not yet requested their Pass, going online is the fastest and easiest way to get My Vaccine Pass by requesting via mycovidrecord.nz

For people that do not have internet access, you can call the 0800 222 478 vaccination line who can provide you with a copy of your vaccine pass. Covid -19 vaccinating pharmacies are also able to print vaccine passes. We ask people to please be patient with these assisted service options.

Thousands of people who received their Covid vaccinations overseas and applied to have their vaccines registered 10-14 days ago, will now be able to download their My Vaccine Pass. The option will appear in their My Covid Record to request the pass and it should land in your email shortly after that. People who have got their vaccinations overseas and have yet to apply to have their vaccines recognised should apply as soon as possible.

Further information on the process for overseas vaccinations is available on our website here Covid -19: Overseas vaccinations and certificates | Ministry of Health NZ

Auckland boundary

Travel across the Auckland Alert Level boundary remains restricted in both directions until 15 December.

Although the new traffic light system comes into effect at 11.59pm tonight you can still only travel across the boundary for permitted reasons. If your travel is not permitted, you may apply for an exemption under exceptional circumstances.

Note – Port Waikato is included inside the Auckland boundary.

Between 15 December 2021 and 17 January 2022, you can travel out of or into Auckland for any reason, but you must follow some restrictions:

· You must be fully vaccinated and have your My Vaccine Pass with you, or

· You must carry evidence of a negative Covid -19 test administered no more than 72 hours before crossing the boundary.

Rapid Antigen Tests available for businesses

All businesses can now access Ministry of Health approved Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) from New Zealand distributors as part of our new testing approach to support the Covid Protection Framework.

RATS can provide a result in 15 minutes but require a high viral load, so are more effective in the early stages of an individual's infectious period. For asymptomatic surveillance testing two or three times a week is recommended.

While RATs are less sensitive than our standard PCR tests, they can be an important complement to our testing programme, such as in higher-risk healthcare settings where staff have had a recent exposure event.

If you have Covid-19 symptoms, our advice continues to be to get a PCR test.

There are good supplies of RATs already in New Zealand and arriving shortly. The Ministry will have 3.8 million tests in stock by the end of this week.

We are also working with the pharmacy sector to have RATs available under supervised testing for the community by mid-December.

New cases identified at the border