There are a record 810 new Covid-19 community cases in New Zealand on Sunday, the Ministry of Health has announced.
The increase is close to double Saturday's tally of 454 new community cases, the previous daily record for New Zealand.
The cases are in Northland (13), Auckland (623), Waikato (81), Bay of Plenty (11), Lakes (11), Hawke’s Bay (8), MidCentral (3), Whanganui (6), Taranaki (5), Tairāwhiti (3), Wellington (15), Hutt Valley (10), Nelson Marlborough (2), Canterbury (3), South Canterbury (2) and Southern (14).
Of that number, 32 are in hospital with the virus, 30 of which have active infections. None of the cases are in the high dependency or intensive care unit.
The Ministry of Health said there “are a number of rumours circulating about possible cases of Covid-19 linked to the protest at Parliament Grounds in Wellington”.
“Wellington’s Regional Public Health Unit has confirmed that there are currently no notified positive cases linked to the protest. However, we encourage everyone to be vigilant and to get a test if they become unwell with symptoms of Covid-19.”
In addition, there are 18 cases to report at the border, five of which are historical.
“The sharp increase in new cases today is another reminder that, as expected, the highly transmissible Omicron variant is now spreading in our communities as we have seen in other countries,” the Health Ministry said.
“Our expectation is that cases will continue to increase over the coming weeks and we’re asking people to do all they can to slow the spread of the virus and protect themselves and their whānau.
“The most important step anyone can take to prepare for Omicron is to book their vaccine, whether it’s their first, second or booster. Every dose counts and lowers the chances of getting very sick and being hospitalised.”
There were 22,196 tests administered in the last 24 hours, with the rolling average for tests over the past seven days at 20,056.
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