There are 80 new community cases of Covid-19 to report today and members of a flight crew are isolating after being identified as close contacts of an Omicron variant case in Australia.
The Ministry said in its daily update there were new community cases in Auckland (51), Waikato (21), Bay of Plenty (7), and the Lakes DHB area (1).
Several members of a flight crew have also been identified as close contacts of a Omicron variant case in Australia, it said.
These crew members arrived in New Zealand last night and are in a MIQ facility, as per standard international air crew arrival procedure.
There is also a new case in Canterbury which will be included in tomorrow's numbers.
The new case is in Christchurch and is a close contact of a previously reported case and was already isolating at home when they tested positive.
There are 51 new cases being reported in Auckland.
Health and welfare providers are now supporting 2595 people to isolate at home, including 664 cases.
There are 21 new cases to report in the Waikato. A large proportion of the new cases are in Te Kūiti.
"Exposure events in Te Kūiti and across the region continue to be generally in private settings."
There are seven cases to report in the Bay of Plenty today. All are in the Tauranga City area.
One is linked to a previously reported case, while the other cases are still being investigated for potential links.
The new case in the Lakes DHB area is in the Taupō district and is linked to a previously reported case.
There are 62 people with Covid-19 in hospital, 4 of them are in ICU or HDU.
Yesterday, 2434 first doses and 6849 second doses of the Covid vaccine were administered.
To date, 94% of eligible people in New Zealand have had their first dose and 89% are double-dosed.
Auckland's border restrictions are due to lift at 11.59pm today.
Air New Zealand says 7500 passengers are due to fly out of Auckland tomorrow and there are almost 4500 people from around the country flying into the city.
For Auckland, travellers will have to present either a vaccine pass or proof of a negative Covid-19 test result when leaving the city. For the rest of the country, vaccine pass and testing requirements will depend on the transport operator's own rules.
"We are continuing to ask anyone in New Zealand with symptoms – no matter how mild – to get tested, even if you’re vaccinated. Please stay at home until you return a negative test result."
Travel testing reminder
Unvaccinated people who are asymptomatic and require surveillance Covid-19 testing for travel need to get a supervised rapid antigen test from a pharmacy, within 72 hours of travel.
This testing is for people over the age of 12 years and 3 months who are not fully vaccinated and do not have Covid-19 symptoms, and includes unvaccinated people travelling out of Auckland.
Rapid antigen testing at pharmacies is currently only available at no cost for people who are not yet vaccinated and need to get tested for travel.
Anyone with any Covid-19 symptoms is asked to get a PCR test at a community testing centre or a GP and stay at home until a negative result is returned.
People who are vaccinated do not need to get a rapid antigen test or a PCR test for travel, so long as they carry their My Vaccine Pass.
People getting tested for the right reasons at the right places will help ensure that test results continue to be returned in a timely way.
