The Ministry of Health is reporting 2522 new community cases of Covid-19. There are 100 people in hospital and no cases in ICU or HDU.

There have been 17 new cases identified at the border, including four historical cases.

Of the 2522 new community cases, 41 are in Northland, 1799 in Auckland, 188 in Waikato, 86 in Bay of Plenty, 11 in Lakes, 24 in Hawkes Bay, 13 in MidCentral, two in Whanganui, nine in Taranaki, 12 in Tairāwhiti, 14 in Wairarapa, 54 in Capital and Coast, 25 in Hutt Valley, 53 in Nelson Marlborough, 76 in Canterbury, one in South Canterbury, 111 in Southern, and three in unknown regions.

Of the 100 cases in hospital, one is in Northland, ten in North Shore, 30 in Middlemore, 45 in Auckland, one in Rotorua, three in Tauranga, 11 in Waikato, and one in Tairāwhiti. The average age of current hospitalisations is 56.

Rapid Antigen Testing update

From Monday morning, rapid antigen tests will be made available at all Auckland testing sites to those who fit the appropriate clinical criteria.

'The site will determine which test - PCR or a rapid antigen test - is best for you,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

Access to rapid antigen tests will be expanded further during the coming week.

'As the outbreak grows more people will have Covid and there will be more close contacts we need to test.

'As planned we will now increase the use of RATs in phase 2 and phase 3 of our response in order to relieve pressure on the PCR testing and reserve it for those most likely to have Covid.

'As we've previously said, only those with symptoms or who have been identified as close contacts of a case, or directed by a health professional to get tested should be turning up at testing sites.”

Some important points for the public to be aware of are:

• people who are directed to have a rapid antigen test will be given advice on what to do if they have a positive result. At the current time, they will likely be advised that they need to have a PCR test to confirm the positive result
• Rapid antigen tests are not as accurate as PCR tests at identifying someone early in their illness so if you have a negative rapid antigen test result and symptoms start to develop, you may need to have another test.
• This is also why it is so important that if you are unwell, you must stay home regardless of the test result, which will also help reduce the spread of other viruses.
• Rapid antigen tests will initially be available in Auckland, as we continue to widen access in other high-demand centres around New Zealand. We will provide updates on this rollout over the coming week.
• We have good stocks of RATs (7.3 million) to support the public health response, with a continual supply arriving by airfreight

'Testing continues to be one of our best defences against Covid-19,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson. "Understandably as case numbers grow, so too does demand on Covid-19 testing sites.

'That's why it's important to reiterate once again that people do not need to get tested, unless they are unwell with cold or flu symptoms, have been identified as a close contact of a case or have been instructed to do so by health officials.”

As this demand has grown, some Covid-19 test results for Auckland and Waikato are currently taking longer to process at laboratories.

'The use of rapid antigen testing, alongside PCR testing, will improve this process at a time of exceptional demand in Phase 2, provided the testing centre queues are freely available for those who really need a test.”

For a full list of testing sites nationwide, visit the Healthpoint website.

COVID-19 vaccine

The Ministry of Health advises that due to a database reporting issue, data cannot currently be provided around the Covid-19 vaccine.

'Work is urgently underway to resolve this and the webpage will be updated as soon as possible.”

Vaccination rates for all DHBs (percentage of eligible people aged 12 +)

This information is as of 9am Saturday February 19. The Ministry of Health advises that as per the data reporting issue, this information will be updated as soon as possible.

• Northland DHB: first doses (90%); second doses (88%), booster doses (66%)
• Auckland Metro DHBs: first doses (97%); second doses (96%), booster doses (62%)
• Waikato DHB: first doses (95%); second doses (93%), booster doses (62%)
• Bay of Plenty DHB: first doses (95%); second doses (93%), booster doses (64%)
• Lakes DHB: first doses (93%); second doses (91%), booster doses (65%)
• MidCentral DHB: first doses (97%); second doses (95%), booster doses (68%)
• Tairāwhiti DHB: first doses (93%); second doses (90%), booster doses (65%)
• Whanganui DHB: first doses (92%); second doses (90%), booster doses (70%)
• Hawke's Bay DHB: first doses (97%); second doses (95%), booster doses (67%)
• Taranaki DHB: first doses (95%); second doses (93%), booster doses (63%)
• Wairarapa DHB: first doses (97%); second doses (95%), booster doses (71%)
• Capital and Coast DHB: first doses (99%); second doses (98%), booster doses (71%)
• Hutt Valley DHB: first doses (97%); second doses (95%), booster doses (69%)
• Nelson Marlborough DHB: first doses (97%); second doses (95%), booster doses (73%)
• West Coast DHB: first doses (93%); second doses (91%), booster doses (70%)
• Canterbury DHB: first doses (100%); second doses (98%), booster doses (66%)
• South Canterbury DHB: first doses (95%); second doses (94%), booster doses (71%)
• Southern DHB: first doses (98%); second doses (96%), booster doses (71%)

Hospitalisations

• Cases in hospital: total number 100: Northland: 1; North Shore: 10; Middlemore: 30; Auckland: 45; Rotorua: 1; Tauranga: 3; Waikato: 11; Tairāwhiti: 1
• Average age of current hospitalisations: 56
• Cases in ICU or HDU: 0
• Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region only, excluding Emergency Departments): Unvaccinated or not eligible (11 cases / 14.4%); partially immunised

Cases

• Seven day rolling average of community cases: 1,447
• Seven day rolling average of border cases: 17
• Number of new community cases: 2,522
• Location of new community cases*: Northland (41), Auckland (1,799), Waikato (188), Bay of Plenty (86), Lakes (11), Hawke's Bay (24), MidCentral (13), Whanganui (2), Taranaki (9), Tairāwhiti (12), Wairarapa (14), Capital and Coast (54), Hutt Valley (25), Nelson Marlborough (53), Canterbury (76), South Canterbury (1), Southern (111). Unknown (3)
• Number of new cases identified at the border: 17 (including 4 historical cases)
• Location of origin of border cases: Full travel history not obtained (14).
• Number of active community cases (total): 13,785 (cases identified in the past 21 days and not yet classified as recovered)
• Confirmed cases (total): 30,694

* Please note, the Ministry of Health's daily reported cases may differ slightly from those reported at a DHB or local public health unit level. This is because of different reporting cut off times and the assignment of cases between regions, for example when a case is tested outside their usual region of residence. Total numbers will always be the formal daily case tally as reported to the WHO.

Tests

• Number of tests total (last 24 hours): 27,825
• Tests rolling average (last 7 days): 27,211
• Number of Rapid Antigen Tests stock available in New Zealand: 7.5 million. Please note that this number is not updated over the weekend and reflects the number of tests as of Friday February 18.