November 8 2021
Auckland will move to step 2 of alert level 3 at 11:59pm tomorrow. On Northland, the upper region will move alert level 2 at 11:59pm on Thursday.
There are 190 Covid cases in the community - the last set of data Cabinet will see before deciding whether Auckland will move to a new alert level.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is due to make the announcement at 4pm.
Of today's 190 new cases today 182 are in Auckland,seven are in Waikato and one is in Northland.
The majority of today's cases (110) are yet to be epidemiologically linked, while 80 have already been connected to the outbreak.
Thirty-seven of yesterday's 113 cases had exposure events in the community, 74 were in isolation while infectious. It's not clear the status of the remaining two cases.
From today, the Ministry of Health says it is reporting the seven-day rolling average for community cases to give the public a better sense of case trends over time - today it is 148.
Probe into hospital death
An investigation is underway as to whether or not a person admitted to hospital on October 23 died of Covid-19.
The patient, who was in their late-60s, was admitted to hospital for trauma injuries and tested positive after their arrival for Covid-19.
The cause of the person's death will be determined by the coroner, including whether it may have been Covid-19 related.
"Our thoughts are with the patient's whānau and friends at this deeply sad time," the Ministry of Health said.
Record number of Covid patients in hospital
There are 81 people with the virus in hospital today, up from yesterday's 74. Of those in hospital, 80 are in Auckland and one is in Whangārei.
There are seven people with Covid in intensive care or a high dependency unit, up two from yesterday's five.
The average age of those in hospital is 51, the same as yesterday.
Latest vax numbers
A total of 3272 first doses and 11,008 second doses were administered yesterday. To date, 89 per cent of Kiwis have had their first dose and 78 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Of the regions with active cases, Auckland has the highest vaccination levels with 92 per cent of residents having had one dose and 83 per cent fully vaccinated.
In Waikato, 88 per cent of people have had one dose, 76 per cent had had both.
In Northland, 81 per cent had had one dose, 68 per cent were fully vaccinated.
Despite providing no further information about the Covid situation in Canterbury in today's statement, the Ministry of Health included its vaccination levels - 93 per cent first dose, 78 per cent both doses.
There are four active cases in Canterbury currently
Auckland suburbs of concern
In Auckland, suburbs of concern where the risk of unidentified cases is higher include Ranui, Sunnyvale, Kelston, Birkdale, Manurewa and Māngere.
There are 838 people with Covid-19 isolating at home across Auckland. Including other household members, there are 2238 people isolating across 698 homes.
Twenty residents and four staff members of Edmonton Meadows Care Home in Henderson, Auckland have tested positive. Seven residents are receiving "appropriate ward-level care" at Auckland hospitals.
There were seven new cases confirmed in Hamilton overnight, four in Te Awamutu and three in Hamilton.
Six were known contacts already in isolation. Public Health will today investigate links for the remaining case.
There are five new cases to report in Northland today.
Four of the cases were notified after the Ministry's 9am reporting cut-off and will be added to the official case tally tomorrow.
Of the five cases, four are linked to known cases while the remainder being interviewed today. There are now 12 active cases in Te Tai Tokerau.
Residents who live in or around Taipa, Kaingaroa, Awanui and Kaitaia need to get tested as soon as possible if they have had Covid-19 symptoms in the last two weeks.
Covid detected on board ship in Bluff
There are three new cases found at the border, two of which arrived onboard a bulk carrier vessel that recently arrived in Bluff from Malaysia.
They are being investigated as likely historical cases.
The crew members were tested as part of the process for allowing a crew member to depart the vessel and fly home on compassionate grounds. All other crew members are still on the ship.
Two weak positive cases were found through testing of the 23-person crew, of which, "the bulk" are vaccinated.
None of the crew have symptoms or have reported a recent illness during the voyage and results from repeat testing are expected tomorrow.
They had arrived on Saturday aboard the MS La Guismorais which came from the Philippines
Auckland alert levels
Auckland is currently at alert level 3.1. Last week Ardern said a decision had been taken in principle to allow the locked down region to go to alert level 3.2 at midnight Tuesday.
This would allow shops and public facilities to reopen and outdoor gatherings to increase to 25 people.
The scene in Auckland's CBD today - retail stores are allowed to reopen at alert level 3.2. Photo / Dean Purcell
Ardern told The AM Show today that Auckland could move into the new traffic light framework in as early as three weeks.
That would see everything including hospitality open and this was looking possible now all the Auckland DHBs had reached the 90 per cent target for first jabs.
In terms of letting Aucklanders through the border at Christmas, Ardern said the logistical issue was how they would get 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles a day through the border.
"We've given the commitment, we know we need to enable people to move."
She had not said it would be done at the start of summer - but the goal was to do so by Christmas.
She said the country had never operated a land border and while it wasn't a long-term solution, it was a major challenge. A date about when Aucklanders could leave would be announced as soon as she could.
