WELLINGTON – The Ministry of Health said in a statement that 306 new community cases of COVID-19 were reported in New Zealand on Thursday.
According to the ministry, 216 of the 306 new community infections are in Auckland, 48 in Waikato, seven in Bay of Plenty, twelve in Northland, four in Tairawhiti, six in the Lakes region, two in the MidCentral region, five in Taranaki, three in Hutt Valley, and three in the Capital and Coast region.
A case of COVID-19 was also confirmed in Queenstown on Thursday. This is the region's first communal case of the outbreak. On Friday, the case will be included in official statistics.
It said that it is looking into any possible links between this case and other cases outside of Southland. In addition, 30 new COVID-19 cases were found near the New Zealand border.
The government recommended people to get their COVID-19 vaccine booster shots as soon as possible. "One of the best things you can do with Omicron in New Zealand is get your booster as soon as it's due."
There are now 12 COVID-19 patients being treated in New Zealand hospitals, none of whom are in intensive care. According to the Ministry of Health, there have been 18,460 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand.
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