COVID-19 cases

The Ministry of Health confirmed that 368 cases of the total were recorded on Sunday and 93 in the

24 hours ending at 8 am on Monday.

MOH is still yet to release their latest update from yesterday.

Fiji has also recorded five deaths from Covid-19 in its latest update.

The first Covid-19 death is of a 63-year-old female from Tavua, who died on the 6th of this month.

She had significant pre-existing medical conditions and was fully vaccinated.

The second is of a 75-year-old unvaccinated man from Nausori.

Tasmania has also reported its first case, after the border to the rest of the country reopened yesterday.

Queensland has 22 new cases of Covid and 18 of those were detected outside quarantine, Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said.

The local cases spent up to a week in the community and were recorded in Brisbane's south, Brisbane's north, the Darling Downs, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, West Moreton and the Wide Bay.

D'Ath said most were acquired while in another state.

They have been placed in isolation at a hotel near Schiphol airport.

They were among some 600 passengers held for several hours after arrival while they were tested for the virus.

Dutch health authorities said Omicron, labelled on Friday as a variant of concern, was "probably found in a number of people" who tested positive.

Other European countries, including the UK and Germany, have confirmed cases of the Omicron variant.

The Government also confirmed eight of the latest cases were recorded in the 24 hours to 8am Thursday.

There are no deaths to report and the toll remains at 694.

Health Secretary James Fong said 17 Covid patients are in hospital, eight in the central division and nine in the west.

"We have recorded 596 Covid-19 positive patients who died from serious medical conditions they had before they contracted Covid. These are not classified as Covid-19 deaths."

In a statement, the Ministry said today's official cases included 142 in Auckland, 17 in Waikato, five in Northland, and one each in the Bay of Plenty, Lakes, and Canterbury DHB areas.

The Ministry said the continued spread of the coronavirus to regions throughout New Zealand was a "reminder that everyone needs to heed the advice that will help keep our communities as safe as possible".

Today's daily case count is the lowest recorded in Victoria since 26 September, when the state recorded 845 cases, 695 of which were local.

There are now 17,518 active cases of the virus in Victoria, and 416 people have died in the state during the current Delta outbreak.

There are 378 people in hospital with the virus, of whom 78 are in intensive care and 48 are on a ventilator.

The health department said a further 71 people are in intensive care, but their Covid-19 infections are no longer considered active.

There was no media conference today. In a statement, the Ministry of Health said 78 of today's cases are yet to be linked, and there are 645 unlinked cases from the past 14 days.

It said 109 of today's cases were in Auckland, with three in Waikato and one in Northland.

There are 74 people in hospital, including five in intensive care. All are in Auckland and the average age is 51.

Today's figures are almost half the record 206 cases recorded yesterday.

There was also one new case detected at the border.

This follows a surge in Covid-19 infections in recent weeks.

Last weekend alone there were four deaths at the main hospital in Buka and nine cases detected on Monday and Tuesday.

During the lockdown, issued by the regional pandemic controller, Clement Totavun, all educational institutions are to continue to operate, but at new hours of 8am to 2pm.

The main town markets are to close, but road side markets can still trade.

Other businesses, and government offices, can remain open but must apply the safety protocols.

There were also five cases reported in managed isolation.

There was no media conference. In a statement, the Health Ministry said 46 of the cases are unlinked. There are now 287 unlinked cases from the past 14 days.

There are 50 people in hospital, including four people in intensive care. The Ministry said the average age of those in hospital is 44.

Yesterday the Ministry of Health reported 104 community cases of Covid-19.

The two new cases in Waikato - one in Te Awamutu and one in Hamilton - remain unlinked, along with five other cases in the region.

There were 56 cases in the city yesterday, the highest since 1 September, with three in Waikato and one in the Bay of Plenty.

But there was also hope, as first-dose vaccination rates hit 86 percent.

Covid-19 modeller professor Shaun Hendy said as cases trend upwards, the outbreak was at a critical point.

"It is possible that we could end up in the triple digits so that's something that the government should be considering and it should be developing a plan for what happens ... because that will put real strain on the health system in Auckland," he said.