More Than 18,000 Vaccine Doses Administered Yesterday; 173 Cases; 78 People In Hospital - 7 People In ICU

There were 18,092 first and second vaccine doses administered yesterday, made up of 6,319 first doses and 11,773 second doses. To date, 92% of eligible people in New Zealand have had their first dose and 85% are fully vaccinated.

The Ministry of Health has now issued more than two million My Vaccine Passes. More than half of all vaccinated New Zealanders now have their pass and we wish to thank everyone who has already got theirs for their efforts.

We expect demand for My Vaccine Passes to keep increasing and we realise the importance of improving access to the pass for all New Zealanders.

From today, there is now the option to receive your pass through the post and people will also be able to go to pharmacies to request their pass.

Almost 400 pharmacies around the country currently providing COVID-19 vaccinations will now also be able to help people get their vaccine pass. Those 400 pharmacies can be found on the Healthpoint website.

There has been an unprecedented number of people calling the 0800 222 478 number to get their pass, check their NHI number or set up their My COVID Record account. To help meet this demand, the Ministry has also increased our call centre capacity and there are now three call centres all operating extended hours.

You can request a My Vaccine Pass from the website. 
 

New case identified at the border

**The number of cases here may sometimes differ from the total reported the previous day due to a difference in reporting timeframes and reclassifications.

*Today’s cases

Today we are announcing new community cases in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Lakes and Canterbury. The case we’re reporting in Canterbury today came in after our 9am cut off and will be officially added to the case numbers tomorrow.

There are no additional cases to report today in Wairarapa, Wellington, Hawke’s Bay, MidCentral or Taranaki.

One previously reported community case has been reclassified to a border case and so the net increase is 172 community cases.

Regional updates

We’re asking anyone in the following regions with symptoms – no matter how mild – to please get tested, even if you’re vaccinated. Please remain isolated until you return a negative test result. And if you’re not vaccinated, your DHB or local health provider will have plenty of opportunities to make this happen.

Northland

There is one new case to report in Northland today. This is a child who is linked to an Auckland case who has been isolating.

A case in Ruakaka reported yesterday has now been linked. Anyone living in or near Ruakaka with symptoms that could be COVID-19 is urged to get a test.

In response to the Ruakaka case, a pop up testing site is opening this afternoon at the Ruakaka Racecourse.

The pop-up site is open at the following times:

9am until 3pm today

9am until 3pm Saturday

10am until 2pm Sunday

9am until 3pm Monday

Testing and vaccination sites open in Northland can be found on the

Northland DHB

website.

New locations of interest in Northland continue to be added to the

Ministry website

Auckland

Today, there are 154 new cases to report in Auckland.

There continues to be daily reviews of testing numbers and testing locations to ensure good coverage of risk areas.

Health staff are now supporting 4,058 people to isolate at home around Auckland - this includes 1,070 cases.

Waikato

There were 15 cases confirmed in Waikato overnight - six in Huntly, four in Hamilton, three in Te Kūiti, and two in Ngāruawāhia.

All cases have been linked to previous cases.

There were further locations of interest identified yesterday across Hamilton, Huntly and Te Kūiti, these have been added to the

Ministry of Health’s website

.

There are seven pop-up and dedicated testing sites operating across the region today in Hamilton, Ōtorohanga, Thames, Huntly, Ngāruawāhia and Te Kūiti. For more information, visit the

DHB’s website.

In the Waikato, health staff are now supporting 129 cases to isolate at home.

Bay of Plenty

Today we are reporting two new cases today in Bay of Plenty.

One of the cases is based in the Tauranga area and is a close contact of a previously confirmed case. They’re already in isolation.

The second person being reported today returned a positive result after receiving a test in Tauranga, sso is being included in the Bay of Plenty case numbers. However, they usually live in Waikato – the person will be transferred safely back to their home in Waikato.

The spread of COVID-19 in the Bay of Plenty is another reminder to get tested if you’re feeling unwell and get your first dose of the vaccine if you haven’t already.

Details of testing stations in Bay of Plenty can be found on the

Healthpoint website

.

Lakes

There is one new case to report in Lakes, based in Rotorua. The case is a close contact of a previously reported case and has been in isolation.

There is good testing capacity across the region with dedicated community testing centres in Taupô, and Rotorua. See

healthpoint.co.nz

for locations and opening times. Testing is also available at a number of medical centres and Hauora Mâori health providers.

Canterbury

Today we are reporting one new case in Canterbury, however as the case was reported after our 9am cut off, it will be officially added to the case numbers tomorrow.

This person has been classified as a low risk to public health. They’re a household contact of a previously confirmed case and are already in managed isolation.

Details on where Cantabrians can seek a test are available on the

Canterbury DHB website

.

People can also check if their GP can provide COVID-19 testing by calling them or via the

Healthpoint

website.

Wastewater

COVID-19 was detected in a sample collected from Kaiwaka on 18 November. Processing of the sample began on 22 November, however, the result was delayed due to a technical issue. Testing is currently in progress for a further sample collected on 22 November.

Anyone with symptoms – no matter how mild - is encouraged to get a test. Details of testing locations are available on the

Northland DHB website

.

COVID-19 was also detected in a sample collected from Opononi on 23 November, this is believed to be linked to active cases in Hokianga.

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