Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Caution in Auckland urged as restrictions ease

Up to a half of Covid-19 cases could be going undetected and Auckland public health officials are warning residents the region is not "out of the woods yet" even though case numbers are declining.

There were 15,871 Covid-19 cases reported yesterday, 13 Covid-related deaths and 899 people in hospital with the virus, including 27 in intensive care.

Eased traffic light restrictions begin today: indoor gathering limits have increased from 100 to 200 and the limits on outdoor events have been scrapped, meaning sports, concerts and other gatherings outdoors can go ahead without restrictions.

Northern Region Health Coordination Centre chief clinical officer Andrew Old said cases were expected to continue to plateau despite the easing of restrictions, but warned "with greater mixing comes greater risk".

"We are all interconnected so whilst out there making decisions for ourselves please continue to be mindful of older people and young ones, as well as those with underlying health conditions that put them at greater risk," he said.

Covid-19 cases in Auckland were declining "quite steeply", but there were still thousands of cases in the region and tens of thousands of people would still get the virus in the coming weeks.

"It's important for all of us to remember that past the peak does not equal out of the woods."

Old said the best estimation was that up to half of Covid-19 cases could be going unreported.

"The actual numbers could be double what we're seeing in terms of the number of infections."

Northern Region Health Coordination Centre chief clinical officer Andrew Old urged people to take care when attending gatherings and warned with greater mixing came greater risk. Photo / Jed Bradley

University of Auckland associate professor Dr Collin Tukuitonga said the number of undetected cases could be three or four times higher than the figure reported. He said it was too early to be easing restrictions.

"I thought the blanket relaxation of vaccine passes and relaxation of gathering numbers is potentially a recipe for ... an increase in numbers again, particularly in vulnerable groups, Pacific communities, for example. I hope I'm wrong."

Vaccine passes will no longer be required from 11.59pm on April 4, but some businesses, venues and events may chose to still use them.

At yesterday's Covid-19 press conference, Old spoke of the disproportionate impact of the Omicron outbreak on Pacific peoples in Auckland.

Despite making up around 16 per cent of the Auckland population, Pacific peoples accounted for 28 per cent of all Omicron cases in Auckland to date. This peaked at more than 50 per cent earlier in the outbreak.

Forty three per cent of all hospitalisations in the outbreak had been of Pasifika people and that peaked at 60 per cent earlier in the outbreak.

Old said the number of new Pacific cases had halved in each of the past two weeks - there were 5209 new cases in the week to March 20, compared to 10,690 the week prior. Case numbers appeared to be on track to halve again, he said.

New Pacific hospitalisations had also dropped by about 17 per cent week-on-week - with 469 in the week to March 13, compared to 387 the week prior.

Tukuitonga said the decline in cases and hospitalisations was a "fantastic" development but he wasn't sure what it could be attributed to and suggested perhaps an increase in booster rates.

To date, 98.2 per cent of Pacific peoples aged 12 and older have had one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, 96.4 per cent have received two and 59.3 per cent of those eligible have been boosted.

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He urged people to get their booster if they were eligible but hadn't received it, and to vaccinate their children if they were eligible.

"Certainly, for Pasifika people we need to step up on boosters and vaccinating the young ones, clearly that's important for mitigating spread of Omicron."

Of Pacific children aged 5 to 11, 46.9 per cent have had one dose of Covid-19 vaccine and 5.9 per cent have had two.

A collective of Pacific health providers have teamed up since the beginning of the pandemic to support families and communities in Auckland.

One of the those providers is The Fono. Chief executive Tevita Funaki said it was evident early in the pandemic that Pasifika people would likely be severely impacted.

The Fono chief executive Tevita Funaki at Friday's Covid-19 update in Auckland. Photo / Jed Bradley

"Our churches, communities and school events have been affected over the last two years.

"And it continues to hit us hard. Pacific peoples still have some of the highest hospitalisation rates in the Omicron outbreak due to the volume of cases."

Dr Fiona Shepherd, of Southpoint Family Doctors, said the Pacific health collective was making several thousand calls between them every day to families and people isolating at home.

"In some cases, these families may require a daily call from a doctor or GP to make sure their symptoms are not worsening or in some cases it may be that they need food or welfare support ... and that is where the collective members swing into action, providing food and welfare supplies where the need exists."