Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: 9390 new community Covid cases, 13 deaths

A person aged between 10 and 19 is one of 13 people reported to have died with Covid-19 today.

Of the other deaths, five people were in their 70s, six in their 80s, and one person was over 90, according to the Ministry of Health.

One person was from Northland, six from the Auckland region, one from Waikato, one from Lakes, one from Whanganui, one from the Wellington region and two from the Canterbury region.

The figures take the death toll to 646. The seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 11.

There were also 9390 community Covid cases reported today and 56 cases detected at the border.

There are 57,138 active community cases of the virus in total.

The ministry is also reporting 522 people in hospital with the virus, including 15 in intensive care.

The average age of the people in hospital is 59.

Anzac warning

The ministry asked people heading away over Anzac weekend to have plans in place in case they contract Covid-19 or became a household contact.

"You would need to self-isolate and likely remain wherever you test positive or become a household contact, so there may be extra costs involved in paying for additional accommodation and changing your travel plans."

People who used their own vehicle to travel could travel back home to isolate, taking public health measures to ensure they did not infect anyone on their way home, including maintaining social distance and using self-service petrol stations.

"However, if you have used public transport or travelled between islands, you won't be able to isolate at your home. So it is important you have a plan and the ability to isolate where you are holidaying, if you need to do so."

The ministry said the three actions everyone could do to help protect themselves and other over the long weekend were:

• Be up to date with vaccinations, including a booster if you've not yet had one. If you are planning to be away, get boosted before you go.

• Wear a mask. Masks are still required in many indoor settings. A good rule of thumb is to wear a mask in indoor public settings as we know that mask use halves the risk of spread of Covid-19. You must also wear a face mask on all flights and public transport, in taxi and ride-share services — unless you are exempt

• Stay home and avoid others if you're unwell, isolating or waiting for the results of a Covid-19 test.

The breakdown of Covid cases in DHB hospitals is: Northland (45), Waitematā (84), Counties Manukau (72), Auckland (80), Waikato (34), Bay of Plenty (28), Lakes (10), Tairāwhiti (one), Hawke's Bay (12), Taranaki (nine), Whanganui (two), MidCentral (11), Wairarapa (four), Hutt Valley (12), Capital and Coast (12), Nelson Marlborough (11), Canterbury (66), South Canterbury (five), West Coast (one) and Southern (23).

The locations of today's cases are: Northland (399), Auckland (2241), Waikato (731), Bay of Plenty (340), Lakes (179), Hawke's Bay (316), MidCentral (353), Whanganui (128), Taranaki (266), Tairāwhiti (108), Wairarapa (117), Capital and Coast (537), Hutt Valley (282), Nelson Marlborough (317), Canterbury (1610), South Canterbury (224), Southern (1116) and the West Coast (121).

The location of five cases is unknown.

The vaccination statuses of those in the Northern Region is:

• Unvaccinated or not eligible: 57 cases / 21 per cent

• Partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose: 5 cases / 2 per cent

• Double vaccinated at least seven days before being reported as a case: 79 cases / 29 per cent

• Received booster at least seven days before being reported as a case: 128 cases / 46 per cent

• Unknown: Seven cases / 3 per cent

To date, 95.2 per cent of eligible New Zealanders aged 12 and older have been double dosed and 71.2 per cent have had a booster.

For Māori, 88.2 per cent have had two doses and 55.2 per cent have been boosted. For Pacific peoples, these figures are 96.6 per cent and 57.3 per cent respectively.

Of children, aged 5-11, 54.2 per cent have had their first dose and 22.1 per cent have had two doses.

Yesterday, there were 10,294 new Covid-19 cases in the community.

More than 500 people were also in hospital, including 14 in intensive care, and a further 18 Covid-related deaths.

The deaths took the pandemic's toll to 633 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths to 12.

Twice positive

Meanwhile, an Auckland teenager was found to have tested positive for Covid twice in six weeks - raising questions about official health advice that people probably have good immunity for three months after infection.

He first tested positive using a PCR test in February when he had mild symptoms before testing positive again in April using a RAT at which point he had a much worse flu that left him bedridden for a few days.

The 14-year-old initially had just a mild sniffle and a cough, his dad told the Herald.

The family isolated for 10 days and the boy returned to school. Then at the start of April "he came home from school really, really quite crook, with a really mean sore throat, fever... the classic symptoms".

A Rapid Antigen Test returned an immediate positive result. This time the illness was substantially worse, his dad said.

"He had a couple days in bed, he couldn't taste anything for about a day. Definitely more severe symptoms this time around."

The boy's GP suggested it all might have been part of the same infection - that the virus had stayed in his system and was causing belated symptoms. Or he could have caught different variants.

The dad admits he didn't think it was possible to get reinfected so quickly.

"I don't know why we tested him [the second time] because that's what we were led to believe. And the school's policy was once you've had it once then you don't need to worry for the next three months, even if you're a household contact."

He's not sure where his double-vaccinated son caught the virus - neither parent has had it and nobody has come to their house while positive.

The teen has fully recovered and there have been no lasting effects that they're aware of so they're not concerned about long Covid at this stage.

Current ministry guidelines give a three-month exemption for household contacts after catching Covid, because "the risk of reinfection within the first three months after someone has Omicron is very low".

The dad was curious whether the Government was reconsidering its advice that people are unlikely to catch Covid again within three months of infection.

"Clearly you can get it twice. I'm sure he's not the only one."

The 14-year-old's infections were both logged on his My Covid Record.

But according to a Ministry of Health spokeswoman, the ministry is not collating reinfection data.

Reinfections had occurred during Omicron outbreaks overseas but they were usually due to catching Omicron after getting a previous variant like Delta or Alpha, she said.

"Omicron reinfections are uncommon, although it has been shown to occur."