There are 744 new Covid-19 community cases in New Zealand on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health has announced.
The cases are in Northland (43), Auckland (535), Waikato (69), Bay of Plenty (8), Lakes (10), Hawke’s Bay (1), MidCentral (6), Taranaki (2), Tairāwhiti (7), Wairarapa (1), Capital and Coast (5), Hutt Valley (1), Nelson Marlborough (9), Canterbury (9) and Southern (30).
Forty people are in hospital with the virus. No one is in an intensive care or high dependency unit.
The numbers come as the country moves to Phase 2 of the Government's Omicron response at 11.59pm tonight.
The ministry said 21,070 Covid-19 tests had been carried out in the last 24 hours and said the high level of testing was "encouraging".
However, it said it is important the right people get tested for the right reasons.
"There is good testing capacity throughout the country, but unnecessary testing could delay results for those who urgently need them," the ministry said in a statement.
"People should only get tested if they have cold or flu symptoms, if they have been at a location of interest, or if they have been asked to get tested by a health official."
A total of 47,573 booster doses were administered on Monday, which was twice as many as Sunday, the ministry said. It brings the total to 1,959,875.
"The Ministry of Health would like to thank everyone in New Zealand who has been vaccinated. You are doing your bit to keep all New Zealanders safe.
"The Covid-19 vaccine remains our best defence against the virus. People who are vaccinated are less likely to get seriously unwell or be hospitalised than people who haven’t been vaccinated.
"The booster vaccine offers a high level of protection against Omicron, so if it’s been three months since you got your second dose, please get your booster as soon as possible."
The ministry also announced the deadline for those in the health and disability sector to have their booster has been extended until 11.59pm on Thursday, February 24.
The new date also applies to any workers covered by health mandated dates due to the work they do in Corrections, Fire and Emergency NZ, the Defence Force, education and police.
Nineteen cases in MIQ were also announced by the ministry on Tuesday, three of which are historical.
The ministry said the cases had travelled from Australia (1), Belgium (1), Singapore (1), United Arab Emirates (1) and the US (1).
The countries 11 of the border cases had travelled from was unknown.
On Monday, 981 community cases were announced.
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