There are no new Covid community cases in the Bay of Plenty today.

The latest numbers from the Ministry of Health show there are 46 new community cases throughout New Zealand - three in Northland, 30 in Auckland, six in Waikato, four in the Lakes District, two in Tairāwhiti and one in Canterbury.

A total of 71 new Omicron cases have now been identified at the border.

"We're asking everyone to play their part to reduce the spread of the virus over the break," says the Ministry of Health in a statement released this afternoon.

"The Ministry urges anyone with any symptoms that could be Covid-19, even if they're away on holiday, to get a test and remain where they are until they receive a negative result and are feeling better.

"This applies as well to vaccinated people with even mild symptoms. For those away on holiday who test positive you will be contacted regarding your ongoing care."

Testing locations nationwide can be found on the Healthpoint website.

People who are out and about are asked to wear a mask and maintain physical distance in crowded or poorly ventilated indoor spaces and scan in using the Covid-19 Tracer app.

The Ministry says the vaccine remains a key defence against all variants of Covid-19, including Omicron.

"We continue to ask everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated, including people who are now eligible for a booster dose."

Covid-19 vaccine update

Vaccines administered to date (percentage of eligible people): 3,972,323 first doses (94%); 3,839,131 second doses (91%); 28,043 third primary doses; 279,853 booster doses.

Vaccines administered yesterday: 279 first doses; 1,917 second doses; 43 third primary doses and 2,888 booster doses.

Māori (percentage of eligible people): 499,157 first doses (87%); 455,867 second doses (80%)

Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people): 269,266 first doses (94%); 256,300 second doses (89%)

Vaccination rates by DHB with active cases (percentage of eligible people)

Northland DHB: First doses (88%); second doses (84%)

Auckland Metro DHBs: First doses (96%); second doses (93%)

Waikato DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (90%)

Bay of Plenty DHB: First doses (93%); second doses (89%)

Lakes DHB: First doses (92%); second doses (87%)

Tairāwhiti DHB: First doses (91%); second doses (85%)

Hutt Valley DHB: First doses (95%); second doses (92%)

Canterbury DHB: First doses (98%); second doses (95%)

Hospitalisations

Cases in hospital: 48; Auckland: 15; North Shore: 6; Middlemore: 21; Tauranga: 3; Rotorua: 2; Waikato: 1.

Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region wards only): Unvaccinated or not eligible (18 cases / 45%); partially immunised

Average age of current hospitalisations: 52.

Cases in ICU or HDU: 7 (2 in Auckland; 3 in Middlemore; 2 in Tauranga.

Cases

Seven day rolling average of community cases: 47

Number of new community cases: 46

Number of new cases identified at the border: 8

Number of Omicron cases identified at the border (total): 71

Location of new community cases: Northland (3), Auckland (30), Waikato (6), Lakes (4), Tairāwhiti* (2) and Canterbury (1).

Number of community cases (current community outbreak total): 10,716

Number of active cases (total cases identified in the past 21 days and not yet classed as recovered): 1,272

Confirmed cases (total): 13,616

Contacts

Number of active contacts being managed (total): 6,121

Percentage who have received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements): 84%

Percentage who have returned at least one result: 76%

Tests

Number of tests total (last 24 hours): 8,773

Tests rolling average (last 7 days): 12,969

Auckland tests total (last 24 hours): 3,886

Testing numbers remain lower than usual in the holiday period.

Wastewater

No unexpected wastewater detections to report.

NZ COVID Tracer

Poster scans in 24 hours to midday yesterday: 1,442,634

Manual diary entries in 24 hours to midday: 32,920

My Vaccine Pass

My vaccine passes issued total: 4,563,219

My vaccine passes issued yesterday: 9,925

Today's cases

Today, the MOH is reporting new community cases in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Lakes, and Canterbury DHB areas.

The two cases in Tairawhiti were publicly reported on 26 December; however, they have not been added to official numbers until today due to data reporting issues.

Northland

There are three new cases of COVID-19 to report in the Hokianga area today. All are from the same household and are linked to an existing case.

Auckland

There are 30 new cases being reported in Auckland over the past 24 hours. 

Health and welfare providers are now supporting 1,417 people to isolate at home, including 406 cases.

Waikato

There are six new cases in the Waikato today with five in Te Kūiti and one with a Palmerston North residential address. All are linked to previous cases.

Health and welfare providers are currently supporting 61 cases to isolate at home.

Lakes

There are four new cases in the Lakes DHB area today. All are in Rotorua.

Three of the new cases are close contacts of known cases and investigations are underway to determine how the other case is linked to the current outbreak.

Canterbury

There is one new case to report in Canterbury today. They are a close contact of another case and are currently isolating in the community.