New Zealand

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.

One-way travel with low-risk Pacific countries resumes on November 8 from the three islands and Tokelau, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced last week.

Travellers from those nations will be able to bypass spending 14 days at a managed isolation and quarantine facility.

All travellers, New Zealand citizens, and NZ resident or visa critical purpose visa holders, would need to have stayed 14 days in their countries before departure and aren’t required to provide a pre-departure test.

They must be fully vaccinated, unless they are New Zealand citizens.

Donna and Colin Craig-Brown of Ngāhinapōuri have named their 7.9-kilogram potato 'Doug'.

The Craig-Browns had no intention of growing a large potato, Colin tells Jesse Mulligan. Doug was just "one of nature's pleasant surprises".

"I had no idea he was growing there and I don't know how long he was there because I was walking over top of him all last cucumber season.

"It's just one of life's happy little moments, you know? Mother Nature has just bestowed this glory upon us."

There are three scheduled repatriation flights before flights are suspended over the Christmas period.

The Vanuatu High Commission in New Zealand said it is working with authorities in Port Vila to secure extra flights to accommodate its nationals stranded in New Zealand, especially seasonal workers.

Repatriation flights from Auckland to Port Vila in August and September have been affected due to the suspension of flights. Flights resumed last month with two flights per month. 

The supplies and equipment were provided by the New Zealand Medical Treatment Scheme (NZMTS) and the ‘Take My Hands’ organization in New Zealand.

The supplies include gowns and scrubs, blankets, Cardiac Monitors, PPE and other equipment requested by VCH.

The New Zealand Medical Treatment Scheme (NZMTS) aims to assist Pacific island countries to provide their citizens with access to specialized medical treatment. The NZMTS comprises two components: the Overseas Referral Scheme; and the Visiting Medical Specialists.

The person arrived two weeks ago, and tested positive for the virus once in New Zealand.

They are staying in managed isolation in Auckland.

The tiny island nation has not had any previously reported cases of Covid-19.

About 14,000 people live across the Tuvalu archipelago, and UN data shows that 12,114 Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered there.

The New Zealand Ministry of Health said this case was one of three new incoming border cases that were reported yesterday.

Another 126 community cases were also reported in New Zealand yesterday.

The change will see travellers from those countries and Tokelau who have the right to reside permanently in New Zealand and people covered by border exceptions, from 8 November.

“Travellers must be fully vaccinated, unless they are New Zealand citizens. RSE workers are currently required to have at least one dose, and will be required to be fully vaccinated from 1 January 2022,” said Covid-19 response Minister Chris Hipkins today.

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.

The case flew from Rotorua and arrived in Blenheim on Thursday. They were tested upon arrival after developing a sore throat.

"The initial test, including a follow-up swab, returned a weak positive result."

The ministry said the case is now isolating awaiting the results of further testing.

The case is considered low risk, due to their likely late stage of infection.

The ministry said initial case interviews suggested the case was linked to the Te Awamutu cluster.

The Ministry of Health said 94 of the cases were in Auckland and eight in Waikato. Thirty of the cases are household contacts.

Forty of the new cases remain unlinked and there are 199 unlinked cases in the past 14 days.

There were 60 new community cases yesterday.

All of the Waikato cases were in the Te Awamutu area, the ministry said. Seven had already been linked to known cases.

One of the Waikato cases travelled to Hawke's Bay last Friday, but returned to Te Awamutu before testing positive.