13 Jan 2022

Covid-19 update: 28 new community cases in NZ, 13 in MIQ

3:10 pm on 13 January 2022

There are 28 new community cases of Covid-19 and 13 new cases in MIQ.

A medical worker works inside an air-inflated film chamber of a mobile laboratory for nucleic acid test in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Nov. 5, 2021. A mobile, inflatable laboratory for conducting COVID-19 tests was officially put into use on Nov. 1 at a sports center in Harbin.

Photo: AFP

In a statement, the Ministry of Health said there were 34 people in hospital, including two in ICU.

Today's new cases were in Auckland (9), Waikato (3), Bay of Plenty (5), Rotorua (2), Wairarapa (4), Hutt Valley (2) and Canterbury (3).

The Ministry said the two Lower Hutt cases are from the same household and had been in Rotorua recently, while the three new cases in Christchurch are all household contacts.

A number of locations of interest in the Hutt Valley, Christchurch, Hamilton, Auckland and Feilding have been added to the Ministry's website today.

The cases at the border came from Sri Lanka, Australia, India, USA, Singapore, Brazil, Israel and Great Britain.

The seven-day rolling average of border cases is 29, while the rolling average of community cases is 30.

Yesterday there were 28 community cases and 65 in MIQ, as well as two further deaths.

A man in his 30s died at home on 5 January and tested positive for Covid-19 after his death, while a man in his 60s died at Middlemore Hospital on Sunday.

There have now been 11,236 cases in the current community outbreak and 14,512 cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand since the pandemic began.

There has also been a wastewater detection in Kawerau in the Bay of Plenty on 10 January.

The Ministry said Capital and Coast will today become the first DHB area to reach the 90 percent fully vaccinated milestone for Māori, with just 32 second doses needed when the region's clinics close yesterday

Canterbury and Auckland DHBs are also nearing the 90 percent fully vaccinated mark for their eligible Māori populations.

The Ministry said 42 percent of the population currently eligible have now received their booster shot.

There were 41,853 booster doses given yesterday, as well as 1437 first doses, 3842 second doses and 630 third primary doses.

South Wairarapa mayor urges Featherston residents to be vigilant

South Wairarapa's mayor has urged Featherston residents to be vigilant - but get on with life as normal - after the town recorded four positive Covid cases.

Mayor Alex Beijen said the news of the positive cases was not unexpected in the town of about 2500 people.

He said the virus' arrival underlines the importance of getting vaccinated, including booster shots.

A temporary vaccination clinic at Featherson's Anzac Hall will open on Saturday 15 January and run for the rest of the month on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

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