92 new Covid cases, one in South Island

There are 92 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today.

Of these, 80 are in Auckland, two in Waikato, one in Northland , five in the Bay of Plenty, one in Lakes DHB and two in Taranaki. The one South Island case today is in Nelson-Marlborough. 

There are 79 people in hospital, including nine in intensive care.

The last day New Zealand recorded under 100 community cases was October 28, with 89 cases.

Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson and Director of Public Health Caroline McElnay are fronting a press conference today.

McElnay said there had been new wastewater detections in Gisborne. She reminded Kiwis to get tested if they have Covid symptoms and to stay isolated until they return a negative test.

Robertson said the nation had headed into the new traffic light system with high vaccination rates, with 93 percent of eligible people having had one dose.

Eighty-seven percent have had both doses of the jab.

Robertson said that of the five DHB regions yet to hit the 90 percent single dose mark, Lakes DHB was just 785 doses away, while the West Coast was only 284 doses away.

Robertson said some people had tried to portray New Zealand as a nation divided on vaccination, "but the numbers show that's not the case".

"We have come together once again to do this mahi and we should be very proud of the progress we've made."

When asked why there is still glitches and problems downloading My Vaccine Passes and rules under the traffic light system, Robertson said it was complex to work through setting so many rules for every business.

He said councils run public facilities but they do have the ability to make their own decisions about whether those accessing their services need to show My Vaccine Passes or not. He just asked that they communicated their requirements to the public clearly.

'No cause for alarm' in Nelson

Robertson said there had been excellent testing numbers in the Nelson region - about 1400 yesterday - and that meant officials were confident the virus was spreading as expected in the area.

McElnay said the public health unit in Nelson was working closely with the school and businesses affected in the area.

"It is hard to say whether we will get more cases," she said. "But at this stage we have no particular cause for alarm."

The Nelson region will remain at the orange traffic level - a move to red is not on the cards at the moment.

But Robertson said people with Covid symptoms are tending to go for tests quite late after getting symptoms. He urged them to get tested earlier.