Covid-19: 37 in hospital, 35 community cases and 24 cases at the border

Friday, 7 January 2022

Emergency Departments are preparing to see an onslaught of Omicron cases, once the Covid-19 variant starts spreading in the community.

There are 35 new cases of Covid-19 in the community and 24 cases at the border, the Ministry of Health announced in a statement on Friday.

On Friday, 37 people are in hospital with the virus and three are in intensive care.

Of the 35 community cases, 18 are in Auckland, 13 in Bay of Plenty, one is in Waikato and three are in Lakes.

The three cases in the Lakes district include a Rotorua-based MIQ worker, who tested positive on Wednesday and is currently in isolation.

* Covid-19: 49 new community cases, 46 in hospital

The Ministry of Health is set to give an update on latest Covid case numbers in a statement on Friday afternoon. (File photo)

* Covid-19: Timing of the Omicron case in the community 'difficult'

The ministry confirmed late on Friday that the MIQ worker has the Delta variant, thought to be acquired in the community rather than in the facility.

It said the worker is fully vaccinated and tested regularly. The worker does not normally have direct contact with returnees, according to the 1pm statement.

The ministry is encouraging anyone who lives in or has visited the Lakes district – particularly Rotorua – to get tested if they experience symptoms, no matter how mild.

People in the region who are yet to be vaccinated are urged to do so.

Of the 13 cases in Bay of Plenty, 12 are in Tauranga. While 9 of these cases are contacts of existing cases, the source for the other four is being investigated.

The ministry is reminding anyone living in or near the Bay of Plenty region with symptoms to get tested.

No unexpected detections of the virus in wastewater have been found.

Most of the cases requiring hospital care – 31 – are in Auckland, with five in Tauranga and one in Waikato.

Of the hospitalised cases, 37.9 per cent are unvaccinated or not eligible, 24.1 per cent are partially vaccinated and 34.5 per cent are fully vaccinated.

According to data from the ministry’s website, 384 of the 588 people hospitalised with Covid-19 since the beginning of Delta community outbreak were unvaccinated – accounting for 65 per cent of all hospitalised cases since August 16, 2021.

The new border cases announced on Friday include travellers flying from UK, USA, Australia, Spain, Qatar, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Fiji, Singapore and India.

Starting from Friday, a pre-departure test within 48 hours is now required of travellers entering New Zealand, compared to the previous 72-hour requirement.

Almost two weeks from New Zealand’s first confirmed Omicron case being active in the community – UK musician Robert Etheridge – there have still been no linked cases.

University of Auckland epidemiologist Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles said it's a “good sign”, but added that the risk of spread hadn’t entirely passed.

Wiles said Kiwis couldn’t rely on luck to keep them safe from the more transmissible variant of Omicron.

Michael Plank, a professor at the University of Canterbury, said the growing number of border cases meant the Omicron variant would inevitably slip into the community and vaccination was the best defence.

CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this story stated 588 people had required hospital care since the start of the pandemic. This figure relates to people with Covid-19 in hospital during the Delta community outbreak. (Updated January 7 at 3.37pm)