There are 17 new Covid-19 community cases to report on Wednesday, the Ministry of Health says.
The community cases were detected in Auckland (five), Waikato (three) and Bay of Plenty (nine).
A further two people tested positive for Covid-19 in Taranaki. As these were detected after the Ministry of Health's cut-off period, they will be included in Thursday's numbers.
A total of 10,450 Covid-19 tests were processed in the past 24 hours, just under 4400 of which were taken in Auckland.
The Ministry of Health said there were no new Omicron cases to report in the community, but a further 23 were found at the border.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Health reported the first instance of Omicron household transmission in New Zealand — a contact of a previously-reported Omicron case in an Air New Zealand crew member.
The fully vaccinated individual was isolating in Auckland during their symptomatic period, the Ministry of Health said.
The ministry said there are no locations of interest or exposure events related to this case, meaning the risk they pose to the community is “extremely low”.
Forty-four people are in hospital with Covid-19, the majority of whom are in Auckland. Of the group, five are in an intensive care or high dependency unit.
Health authorities in Auckland are supporting 1091 people to isolate at home, including 303 cases.
Of Waikato’s three cases, two were detected in Te Kuiti and one was in Hamilton.
All nine cases reported in the Bay of Plenty are in the Tauranga area and are linked to previously-reported cases.
The two cases in Taranaki are household contacts of each other. An investigation is underway to see if they are linked to other cases in the region.
The emergency department at Taranaki Base Hospital has been identified as a location of interest.
Those who were at the ED between New Year’s Day at 6.30pm and midnight on January 2 are considered a casual contact.
The Ministry of Health said the DHB is working with people who were at the ED who may have been affected. No staff have been stood down.
An additional 23 cases have been identified at the border.
On Tuesday, there were 31 new Covid-19 cases in the community.
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