The Ministry of Health has announced 125 new cases of Covid-19 including two more in Christchurch.
The rest of the cases are made up of 118 cases in Auckland and four in Waikato.
There has now been 13 close contacts of the Christchurch cases identified. Meanwhile Covid-19 has been detected in Christchurch's wastewater from a sample taken on Wednesday. Further wastewater testing was underway.
There were no cases discovered in the South Island outside of Christchurch after it was revealed yesterday a person with links to the Christchurch cases visited the processing plant at Macraes Mine.
It has since emerged the contractor returned a negative result.
As at 10am, 74 of today’s cases were linked - including 29 household contacts and 51 remained under investigation.
39 people are in hospital including four in ICU.
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The Ministry said the rise in case numbers was a reminder of the infectiousness of Covid-19, and particularly the Delta variant, and the importance of vaccination as the best protection.
Christchurch update
There are two new expected and linked community cases of Covid-19 to report in Christchurch today, both from a single household linked to the cases identified earlier this week.
This brought the total number of active cases in the region to four. A total of 13 other close contacts have now been identified, who are isolating and will undergo further testing.
The new cases reported today were close contacts of the two initial cases. They are currently isolating with public health support. The local public health unit is gathering further information from these cases to identify any close contacts and exposure events, including any locations of interest.
People across Canterbury are urged to closely monitor the Ministry’s locations of interest webpage, which is updated regularly, with initial sites already identified.
In addition, anyone in Canterbury – especially those in Christchurch – with any symptoms, no matter how mild, were asked to please get tested. Those in Canterbury are also reminded to get vaccinated today and this weekend if they have not already.
Testing and vaccination sites were available across Canterbury, today and into the weekend. Please see the Canterbury DHB website for site locations and hours.
Yesterday across Canterbury, more than 3,000 tests were carried out and nearly 11,000 vaccinations were administered – with 90% of residents now having received their first dose, and 71 percent fully vaccinated.
In Waikato, three of the new cases were in the Te Awamutu/Kihikihi area and one in Ōtorohanga.
An additional two cases confirmed today will be included in tomorrow's numbers. Both were in Kāwhia at the time they were tested but travelled to the Auckland region before receiving positive results.
The pair are currently in isolation in Auckland.
A pop-up testing centre at the Maketu Marae in Kāwhia will run for the next three days.
Anyone in the area is urged to get tested if they symptoms, even if mild, and even if they are double vaccinated.
A further case in Auckland who is an MIQ worker, first announced yesterday, remained under investigation to determine whether they are a community or border-related case.
Yesterday's cases
Yesterday there were 83 new cases in Auckland, four in Waikato and two in Christchurch.
It was revealed two people in Christchurch tested positive for the virus on Tuesday, including a truck driver who carried out deliveries over four days of their infectious period. The other person had traveled to Auckland for childcare permitted under the current restrictions.
There are 13 locations of interest spread across Christchurch, including a supermarket, takeaway outlets and multiple dairies.
No new locations of interest have been added to the list this morning, which currently has 389 events involving 271 locations.
Ōtorohanga mayor Max Baxter confirmed this morning a positive case was detected in Kāwhia yesterday, making it the fourth case in the Ōtorohanga district this week.
"The person and a close contact of that individual were visiting Kāwhia until Tuesday this week and are now in isolation outside of the Kāwhia area," said Baxter.
A pop-up testing centre has been set up in Kāwhia today.
Of the 83 new cases in Auckland yesterday, 50 remained unlinked to the current Delta outbreak.
"Auckland public health officials continue to urge residents in Redvale, Rosedale, New Lynn, Wiri, Drury, Manurewa and Henderson to get tested as soon as possible if they have even very mild symptoms that might be Covid-19, even if they are fully vaccinated," the Ministry said.
"This testing will help to provide assurance that any undetected spread of Covid-19 in these communities is identified as quickly as possible."
Seventy-two percent of those eligible for the Pfizer vaccine across the country have received both doses, and 87 percent have received one dose.
In Auckland 78 percent of the eligible population have had both jabs and 91 percent have had one.
Otago University microbiologist James Ussher said a vaccine mandate for flight travel out of Auckland would be a sensible course to take until new traffic light alert system came into play.
Ussher told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking that New Zealand was facing significant implications should Covid get into parts of the country at alert level 2.
"Until we are no longer at risk of having lockdowns I think it would be sensible from a scientific perspective to have a vaccine mandate to travel on airplanes out of Auckland."
