Covid-19 Delta outbreak: Five new cases in Bay of Plenty, none in Lakes

Covid.

There are five new cases in Bay of Plenty and none in the Lakes District Health Board region today.

Three cases are in Tauranga and two are in the Western Bay of Plenty, the Ministry of Health says.

All are contacts of previously notified cases.

Four cases are in hospital in Tauranga - two in intensive care or high dependency units.

There is one case to report in Taupō, which is still being investigated for potential links. There will be more information on this case tomorrow.

Nationally, there are 19 new community cases.

There are several new locations of interest for the region. Click here.

Wednesday's cases

Just 17 cases were found yesterday, and the seven-day rolling average had dropped to 41 cases - the lowest since October 12.

Of yesterday's community cases, five were in Auckland, three in Waikato, and nine in Bay of Plenty.

Vaccine interval shortened

The interval between a person's second vaccine and the booster was officially reduced yesterday.

Anyone 18 or over who has gone four months after their second vaccine dose could receive their booster shot. That's down from six months previously.

People can book an appointment with the Covid Vaccination Healthline team on 0800 28 29 26, or they can visit a walk-in vaccination site.

From January 17, people who had gone four months after their second dose could book boosters on Book My Vaccine. For those who had waited six months or longer after their second dose, they could book their booster now on the site.

In total, 1.2 million Kiwis had become eligible to get their booster from yesterday.

The gap between the second and booster doses of the vaccine has been shortened because of the global emergence of the Omicron variant, which was more transmissible.