62 new Covid-19 community cases, one death

December 24, 2021
Covid-19 test (file photo).

There are 62 new Covid-19 cases in the community on Friday and one death, the Ministry of Health has announced.

The cases were detected in Auckland (37), Waikato (5), Bay of Plenty (14), Lakes (5), and Canterbury (1).

A person in their 50s has died of the virus in North Shore Hospital. They had been admitted to hospital on December 11.

"Our thoughts are with their whānau and friends at this sad time," the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

There are 45 people with Covid-19 in hospital on Friday. Of those cases, eight are in ICU or in a high dependency unit.

In Auckland there are 37 new cases, and 2,152 people are being supported to isolate at home.

There are five new cases in Waikato, all in Te Kūiti and are all known contacts of previous cases.

In the Western Bay of Plenty, 14 new cases have been announced.

The Ministry of Health says seven Bay of Plenty cases have been linked to existing cases.

There are five cases in the Lakes district, all either in or near Rotorua. Three cases have been linked to existing cases.

Christchurch has one new case, and recent travel to Auckland is being investigated as the source of their infection.

The case travelled from Auckland to Christchurch on Monday 20 December on Air NZ Flight NZ543.

The Ministry of Health says all passengers on the flight are being treated as close contacts and are required to get tested and contact tracing is underway to contact all passengers.

There are seven pop-up and dedicated testing sites operating throughout Waikato today with sites in Hamilton, Te Kūiti, Huntly, Ngāruawāhia, Thames, and Ōtorohanga.

Nine new cases have been detected at the border on Friday. The ministry has not reported that any of these cases are the Omicron variant.

A historical case has also been identified, that person is in self isolation.

On Thursday there were 56 new Covid-19 community cases in New Zealand.

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