Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: 6369 new cases, 13 deaths, 362 people in hospital

In the community, there are 6369 new cases of Covid-19 and 13 new deaths.

The deaths bring New Zealand's Covid death toll to 1140, with 6.28 million people worldwide having died since the pandemic began in early 2020.

The seven-day rolling death toll is 14.

According to the Ministry of Health, 362 people are hospitalised, with six in intensive care.

The rolling seven-day average of new community cases has dropped by over 1000 since last week.

The seven-day rolling average is currently 6924. It was 7972 on Saturday.

Five of today's new deaths occurred in Auckland. There were two in the Wellington and Canterbury district health boards, and one in the Bay of Plenty, Nelson Marlborough, South Canterbury, and Southern districts.

Two of those killed were in their 60s, five in their 70s, three in their 80s, and three were over 90. There were eight men and five women.

The ministry stated, "This is a very sad time for whnau and friends, and our thoughts and condolences are with them."

In New Zealand, there are 48,452 people who have Covid-19.

Since the pandemic began, more than 1.13 million people in New Zealand have tested positive for the virus.

Auckland continues to have the newest community cases (2068).

Northland (166), Waikato (480), Bay of Plenty (160), Lakes (125), Hawke's Bay (173), MidCentral (199), Whanganui (74), Taranaki (215), Tairwhiti (32), Wairarapa (59), Capital and Coast (512), Hutt Valley (193), Nelson Marlborough (269), Canterbury (981), South Canterbury (135), Southern (452) and West Coast are among the other new cases (70).

Six cases have no known location. In addition, there are 55 new cases at the border.

In the previous 24 hours, New Zealanders reported the results of 12,887 rapid antigen tests, as well as 3986 PCR tests.

The majority of hospitalizations occur in the Auckland region. Waitemat hospitals have 34 patients, Auckland has 65, and Counties Manukau has 31.

Other regions with hospitalizations include Northland (11), Waikato (20), Bay of Plenty (3), Lakes (5), Tairwhiti (3), Hawke's Bay (20), Taranaki (5), Whanganui (3), MidCentral (13), Hutt Valley (5), Capital and Coast (33), Nelson Marlborough (8), Canterbury (54), South Canterbury (11), West Coast (1), and Southern Region (1). (35).

Wairarapa hospitalisation numbers have been unavailable for two days, when two people were admitted with the virus.

In Northland and Auckland hospitals, the average age of those with Covid-19 is 58.

The ministry stated that average age figures for those hospitalised in other parts of the country are not available.

Excluding the emergency department, 14% of those in Northland and Auckland hospitals are unvaccinated or ineligible, 3% are partially vaccinated, 23% are double-vaccinated, and 56% are boosted.

The vaccination status of 4% of those in the hospital is unknown.

Vaccinations are also still being administered to a small number of people.

Yesterday, over-12s received 33 first doses, 40 second doses, 23 third primary doses, and 964 booster doses.

There were also 53 first doses and 250 second doses administered to children aged 5 to 11.

95.2 percent of Kiwis over the age of 12 are now double-dosed, and 70.6 percent of those eligible have also received their booster.

The vaccination rate for children aged 5 to 11 is 54.5 percent for the first dose and 25.3% for the second dose. Children under the age of 16 are not eligible for a booster.

Mori vaccination rates continue to lag those of the general population, with 88.3 percent of over-12s receiving a double dose and only 53.4 percent of those eligible receiving a booster.

Tamariki Mori have received one dose of the vaccine, with 35.5 percent receiving two doses.

The vulnerability of some Kiwis to serious consequences from Covid-19 infection prompted a move this week to provide a fourth vaccination to those most at risk.

According to Hipkins, the vaccination advisory group of the Ministry of Health, the jab, which follows the initial recommended three-dose regimen, could be given six months after the recipient's previous booster.

Older people, residents of aged-care facilities, residents of disability care aged 16 and up, and severely immunocompromised people aged 16 and up may be eligible.

According to Hipkins, most of this targeted group will be able to get their second shot starting in July.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to be eligible.

The rollout of Pfizer's paediatric Covid-19 vaccine for children begins on January 17, and children aged 5 to 11 will be able to get a dose and reduce their risk of contracting the virus. NZ Herald / Ministry of Health

Omicron sub-variants with increased transmissibility but not thought to cause more serious illness were also found in the community this week.

While the most recently sequenced cases in New Zealand have remained of the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant, the first community case of Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1 was discovered in Hawke's Bay this week, according to health officials.

The case, which had no obvious connection to the border, was derived from a test result returned earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ashley Bloomfield, the director general of health, joined the more than 528 million people worldwide who have tested positive for Covid-19 since early 2020.

The health chief fell ill while attending the World Health Assembly in Switzerland.

He is self-isolating in Geneva due to mild symptoms.