The Ministry of Health is reporting 5,662 new community cases of Covid-19, 490 hospitalisations and nine deaths today. There are 20 people in New Zealand who are in ICU with Covid-19.

Two of the deaths are from the Bay of Plenty and one from the Lakes District Health Board region.

There are 223 new community cases in Bay of Plenty and 85 in the Lakes. There are 20 cases in hospital in Bay of Plenty and six in Lakes.

Covid-19 deaths

'Today we are sadly reporting the deaths of nine people with Covid-19,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

The deaths being reported today include people who have died over the past nine days. Delays to reporting can be associated with people dying with Covid-19, rather than from Covid-19, and Covid being discovered only after they have died.

These deaths take the total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 to 674 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 13.

'Of the people whose deaths we are reporting today, one person was from the Auckland region; one from Waikato; two from Bay of Plenty; one from Lakes; one from Nelson-Marlborough; and three from the Canterbury region,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

One person was in their 50s; one in their 60s; one in their 70s; one in their 80s and five people were over 90. Four were male and five were female.

'This is a very sad time for whanau and friends and our thoughts and condolences are with them.

Out of respect we will be making no further comment.”

Today's seven-day rolling average is 8,435, and the seven-day rolling average of cases as at last Sunday was 8,170.

Border case with Omicron XE variant

New Zealand's first known detection of the Omicron XE variant was reported on Saturday.

'XE has been spreading overseas and its arrival in New Zealand is not unexpected,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson. 'At this stage, the public health settings already in place to manage other Omicron variants are assessed to be appropriate for managing XE and no changes are required.”

XE is a combination of BA.1 and BA.2 sub variants of Omicron.

The Ministry of Health says there is some early evidence that it may be slightly more transmissible than BA.2, which is more transmissible than BA.1.

'There is no evidence to date that XE causes more severe disease than other Omicron lineages, noting that it takes weeks or months to identify the severity of each new variant.”

ANZAC weekend

'If you are travelling this ANZAC weekend, you should have plans in place in the event you contract Covid-19 or are identified as a household contact of a case,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

'You would need to self-isolate and likely remain wherever you test positive or become a household contact, so there may be extra costs involved in paying for additional accommodation and changing your travel plans.

'If you have used your own vehicle to travel, you can travel back to your home to isolate, taking public health measures to ensure you don't infect anyone on your way home – such as maintaining physical distance and using self-service petrol stations,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

'However, if you have used public transport or travelled between islands, you won't be able to isolate at your home. So it is important you have a plan and the ability to isolate where you are holidaying, if you need to do so.”

There are three actions everyone can do to help protect themselves and others this long weekend.

Firstly – be up to date with vaccinations, including a booster if you've not yet had one. If you are planning to be away, get boosted before you go.

Secondly – wear a mask. Masks are still required in many indoor settings. A good rule of thumb is to wear a mask in indoor public settings as we know that mask use halves the risk of spread of Covid-19. You must also wear a face mask on all flights and public transport, in taxi and ride-share services — unless you are exempt.

And thirdly – stay home and avoid others if you're unwell, isolating or waiting for the results of a Covid-19 test.

For guidance if you or someone you know tests positive or becomes a household contact, visit the Ministry of Health website.

For more information on mask use at Orange, visit the Unite Against COVID-19 website.

Vaccinations administered in New Zealand

• Vaccines administered to date: 4,026,402 first doses; 3,977,415 second doses; 31,723 third primary doses; 2,621,445 booster doses: 260,942 paediatric first doses and 110,013 paediatric second doses
• Vaccines administered yesterday: 24 first doses; 78 second doses; 4 third primary doses; 1,202 booster doses; 87 paediatric first doses and 975 paediatric second doses

People vaccinated

• All Ethnicities (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 4,056,236 first dose (96.4%); 4,006,634 second dose (95.2%), 2,618,037 boosted (71.2% of those eligible)
• Māori (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 520,915 first dose (91.2%); 503,899 second dose (88.2%), 233,573 boosted (55.1% of those eligible)
• Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 281,803 first dose (98.3%); 276,886 second dose (96.6%), 139,247 boosted (57.3% of those eligible)
• 5 to 11-year-olds all ethnicities: 258,332 first dose (54.2%); 107,456 second dose (22.6%)
• 5 to 11-year-olds - Māori: 40,724 first dose (35.2%); 12,183 second dose (10.5%)
• 5 to 11-year-olds - Pacific Peoples: 23,419 first dose (47.4%); 6,021 second dose (12.2%)

Note that the number for 'People vaccinated” differs slightly from 'Vaccines administered” as it includes those that have been vaccinated overseas.

Vaccination rates for all DHBs*

• Northland DHB: first dose (90.1%); second dose (88%); boosted (67.9%)
• Auckland DHB: first dose (99.2%); second dose (98.3%); boosted (72.9%)
• Counties Manukau DHB: first dose (96.2%); second dose (95%); boosted (66%)
• Waitemata DHB: first dose (96.5%); second dose (95.6%); boosted (70.8%)
• Waikato DHB: first dose (95.1%); second dose (93.6%); boosted (66.8%)
• Bay of Plenty DHB: first dose (95.1%); second dose (93.4%); boosted (66.3%)
• Lakes DHB: first dose (93.2%); second dose (91.4%); boosted (66.6%)
• MidCentral DHB: first dose (96.4%); second dose (95.2%); boosted (72.3%)
• Tairāwhiti DHB: first dose (93.2%); second dose (91%); boosted (66%)
• Whanganui DHB: first dose (91.9%); second dose (90.4%); boosted (71.7%)
• Hawke's Bay DHB: first dose (97.2%); second dose (95.6%); boosted (70%)
• Taranaki DHB: first dose (94.6%); second dose (93.3%); boosted (68.3%)
• Wairarapa DHB: first dose (96.5%); second dose (95%); boosted (73.1%)
• Capital & Coast DHB: first dose (98.5%); second dose (97.8%); boosted (79.5%)
• Hutt Valley DHB: first dose (96.6%); second dose (95.7%); boosted (75.1%)
• Nelson Marlborough DHB: first dose (96.4%); second dose (95.2%); boosted (73.6%)
• West Coast DHB: first dose (92.7%); second dose (91.3%); boosted (71.9%)
• Canterbury DHB: first dose (99.7%); second dose (98.8%); boosted (74.7%)
• South Canterbury DHB: first dose (94.7%); second dose (93.7%); boosted (74.7%)
• Southern DHB: first dose (98.5%); second dose (97.4%); boosted (73.3%)

*Partially and second doses percentages are for those 12+. Boosted percentages are for 18+ who have become eligible 3 months after having their second dose or 16 and 17 year olds who have become eligible 6 months after having their second dose.

Percentages are based on 2020 HSU data - a health-specific population denominator. As the population continues to change over time, coverage rates can exceed 100%.

Hospitalisations

• Cases in hospital: total number 490: Northland: 37; Waitemata: 76; Counties Manukau: 70; Auckland: 83; Waikato: 41; Bay of Plenty: 20; Lakes: 6; Tairāwhiti: 2, Hawke's Bay: 8; Taranaki: 11; Whanganui: 4; MidCentral: 5; Wairarapa: 3; Hutt Valley: 15; Capital and Coast: 12; Nelson Marlborough: 6; Canterbury: 58; South Canterbury: 7; West Coast: 1; Southern: 25
• Average age of current hospitalisations: 60
• Cases in ICU or HDU: 20
• Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region only, excluding Emergency Departments): Unvaccinated or not eligible (47 cases / 18%); partially immunised

Cases

• Seven day rolling average of community cases: 8,435
• Seven day rolling average (as at Sunday last week): 8,170
• Number of new community cases: 5,662
• Number of new community cases (PCR): 129
• Number of new community cases (RAT): 5,533
• Location of new community cases (PCR & RAT): Northland (203), Auckland (1,455), Waikato (365), Bay of Plenty (223), Lakes (85), Hawke's Bay (187), MidCentral (196), Whanganui (68), Taranaki (152), Tairāwhiti (50), Wairarapa (53), Capital and Coast (355), Hutt Valley (191), Nelson Marlborough (224), Canterbury (978), South Canterbury (128), Southern (666), West Coast (81), Unknown (2)
• Number of new cases identified at the border: 44
• Number of active community cases (total): 59,018 (cases identified in the past 7 days and not yet classified as recovered)
• Confirmed cases (total): 881,481

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 PCR tests total (last 24 hours): 1,568
• Number of Rapid Antigen Tests reported total (last 24 hours): 10,126
• PCR tests rolling average (last 7 days): 2,103
• Number of Rapid Antigen Tests dispatched (last 7 days as of 22 April 2022): 629,000. (Please note that this number is not updated over the weekend and reflects the number of tests as of Friday).