Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Booster interval shortened as third Omicron case found

There are 17 new Covid-19 cases in the community today, the Ministry of Health says.

There are 23 further cases at the border.Omicron is expected to be the "most prevalent variant" at the border, the ministry says, and whole genome sequencing is underway to establish how many new cases are Omicron.

Yesterday, the Ministry announced a third border-related case of Omicron - a household contact of an Air New Zealand staffer who tested positive recently.

There are still no locations of interest or exposure events linked to this person, the Ministry said today.

The risk to the community from this case has been determined as extremely low.

The person, who was fully vaccinated, had been in isolation for the entirety of their symptomatic period.

Forty-four people with the Covid-19 virus are in hospital - eight at North Shore, 14 at Auckland, 17 at Middlemore, four at Tauranga and one at Rotorua.

Of those, five are in intensive care or high dependency units - two at Middlemore and three at Tauranga

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

Two further cases in Taranaki have been announced but will be added to tomorrow's tally as they were reported after today's cut-off period.

The Emergency Department at Taranaki Base Hospital has been identified as an exposure event. The Taranaki DHB is working with those who may be affected.

No DHB staff have been stood down at this stage.

Anyone at the Taranaki ED between Saturday, January 1 at 6.30pm and midnight on Sunday, January 2, is considered a casual contact.

The two cases in Taranaki are household contacts of each other, however, their link to another case is yet to be determined. Public health staff are continuing to investigate to determine links to any previously reported cases in the region.

The interval between a person's second vaccine and their booster has been officially reduced today.

Anyone 18 or over who has gone four months after their second vaccine dose can 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 have gone four months after their second dose can book their boosters on Book My Vaccine. For those who have waited six months or longer after their second dose, they can book their booster now on the site.

In total, 1.2 million Kiwis have become eligible to get their booster from today.

The gap between the second and booster doses of the vaccine has been shortened due to the global emergence of the Omicron variant, which is more transmissible than previous strains.

A total of 7161 vaccines were administered yesterday - 403 first doses, 1410 second doses, 20 third primary doses and 5328 booster doses.

No unexpected Covid-19 wastewater detections have been reported.

A total of 7161 vaccines were administered yesterday - 403 first doses, 1410 second doses, 20 third primary doses and 5328 booster doses.

The Ministry is reporting no unexpected Covid-19 wastewater detections.

In Auckland, 1091 people are isolating at home, including 303 cases.

In the Waikato, 51 people with Covid-19 are isolating at home.

The three cases in the Waikato are all linked to previous cases. Two of the three cases are in Te Kuiti with the third in Hamilton

The nine Bay of Plenty cases are all in the Tauranga area and are all linked to previous cases.

Pop-up Covid testing sites are operating in popular holiday hotspots Waihī and Whitianga today.

Vaccinators work at the Auckland Airport park and ride drive-through vaccination centre this week. Photo / Alex Burton

Meanwhile, Auckland's Airport Park and Ride drive-through vaccination centre has reopened, which added significant surge capacity for vaccination efforts.

The drive-through is located at 42 Verissimo Drive, Māngere, and operates from 10am-5pm with no appointment needed. It can vaccinate more than 4000 people per day.

On the latest Omicron case, the ministry confirmed the person fully vaccinated.

There were no locations of interest related to the person at 1pm yesterday but public health officials were continuing to investigate the person's movements.

The household contact has now been transferred to a MIQ facility. The second household contact, who is also in isolation, continues to test negative.

There were 31 new cases in the community yesterday. There were 29 further cases found at the border.

Some border cases were expected to have the Omicron variant and whole genome sequencing was ongoing.

Of yesterday's community cases, 14 were in Auckland, one was in Waikato, 12 were in Bay of Plenty and four in Lakes.

Fifty-three people with Covid-19 were in hospital. Nine were at North Shore, 16 at Auckland, 22 at Middlemore, five at Tauranga and one at Rotorua.

Almost half (20) were either unvaccinated or ineligible for the vaccine. Eight people had received one dose, 14 were fully vaccinated, with the remainder unknown.

Of the six people in intensive care or high dependency units, three were at Middlemore and three at Tauranga.

Yesterday, Auckland health officials expressed their concern that more positive cases and close contacts could be in the community following exposure at escort agency and massage parlour, The Pelican Club.

"Public health are therefore requesting anyone who visited the venue between 22 and 31 December contacts Healthline on 0800 358 5453 and follows the advice provided on the Locations of Interest website," the spokesperson said.

The current advice is:

• Isolate (stay at home) for 10 days after the last visit to the Pelican Club.

• Get tested on day 5 days and day 8 after they were last at the venue during these dates, regardless of whether or not they have symptoms.

• If symptoms develop at any time during the 10 days, they should get an additional test immediately.

• Stay at home until all test results come back negative.

• Visit the Locations of Interest website to record their visit online or call Healthline on 0800 358 5453. This is so contact tracers can provide further advice.

Health officials said the club's workers were getting specific advice from their manager.

Two other Auckland adult entertainment clubs, The Mermaid Club and Femme Fatale, had also been linked to positive Covid-19 cases in the last two weeks.

The Mermaid Club, at 13 Gore St, was visited by a case between 11.40pm on Wednesday, December 22 and 1am on Thursday, December 23.

Femme Fatale, an escort agency on Wellesley St West, was visited between 3am-5.20am on Thursday, December 23.