There are 60 Covid-19 community cases to report on Thursday, with six Omicron cases in MIQ, the Ministry of Health said.
Of that number, one is in Northland, 20 are in Auckland, 28 are in the Waikato, eight are in the Bay of Plenty, one is in the Lakes District, one is in Tairāwhiti and one is in Canterbury.
There are also 44 Covid-19 cases in the hospital, including seven in North Shore, 15 in Auckland City, 18 in Middlemore, two in Tauranga and two in Lakes, the Health Ministry said.
It comes after a British DJ was on Wednesday identified as the first Omicron case active in the community.
Six additional Omicron cases were detected at the border over the past 24 hours. It brings the total number of Omicron cases to 78.
Eleven cases were detected in MIQ.
Of those, five arrived in Aotearoa on direct flights from Australia; one from Ethiopia via the United Arab Emirates; two from the UK - one via the United Arab Emirates and the other via Hong Kong; two on direct flights from Singapore; and one on a direct flight from the UAE.
There are no unexpected results in wastewater testing.
On Wednesday, 46 new Covid-19 cases were detected in the community.
Second border-related Omicron case
Meanwhile, a second border-related case - an Air New Zealand crew member who worked on a flight between Auckland and Sydney on December 24 - was active in the community before testing positive, the Health Ministry said.
READ MORE: Air NZ crew member with Omicron was out in community
The case, who is fully vaccinated, tested positive during routine surveillance testing on December 27. Whole genome sequencing has confirmed the new case is the Omicron variant, and is linked to three other Omicron cases on the same flight.
Eight close contacts of the case have been identified, seven of whom have returned negative test results.
There are no known locations of interest at this stage.
Omicron Update
The first Omicron case active in the community, identified as drum and bass artist Dimension, arrived in New Zealand on a flight from the UK via Doha on December 16.
The performer, also known as Robert Etheridge, completed the full 10 days in isolation – seven days in MIQ and three days in self-isolation.
He was tested on day nine, but self-released before receiving his result.
He’s understood to have travelled by private car and ferry to Waiheke Island.
The Health Ministry said he did not leave the vehicle while on the ferry, and travelled straight to his accommodation.
Three people completing MIQ in the same facility as the DJ later tested positive for Covid-19, but those cases are not linked to him.
Etheridge was due to perform at the Rhythm and Alps festival before withdrawing at the last minute alongside fellow UK artist Friction.
There are no known contacts or cases linked to the Rhythm and Alps festival at this stage.
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