Covid-19 outbreak situation report: What happened today, March 25

Here’s a roundup of the biggest updates from March 25 concerning Aotearoa’s Omicron outbreak.

Cases and vaccinations

There are 15,871 new cases of Covid-19 in the community, and 13 further deaths to report on Friday.

These deaths take the total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 to 234 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 11.

READ MORE:
* Omichronicles March 25: Covid gave woman her life back after two years of fear
* Covid-19: 15,871 community cases, 13 deaths reported
* Covid-19 outbreak situation report: What happened today, March 24
* Covid-19 outbreak situation report: What happened today, March 22

On Friday, 899 people were in hospitals across the country with the virus, 27 of whom were in an intensive care or high dependency care unit, the Ministry of Health said.

To date, 4,054,392 in New Zealand have been double vaccinated against Covid-19, 72.7 per cent of those currently eligible for their booster have received it, and 53.8 per cent of eligible 5 to 11-year-olds have had their first dose and 11.6 per cent there second dose.

There were 2996 booster doses given on Thursday, along with 4024 paediatric second doses.

Key news

Dr Andrew Old, chief clinical officer of the NRHCC, said the daily Covid deaths is a reminder that people should remain vigilant.

“Tens of thousands” of people would continue to get Covid over the coming weeks, despite declining case numbers in the past week, he said.

Tens of thousands of Covid-19 vaccines worth more than $800,000 will be dumped by the end of next week as AstraZeneca doses expire, with officials signalling new courses are unlikely to be offered for much longer.

AstraZeneca was made available in late November, for people aged 18 and over who could not have the Pfizer vaccine or who wanted a different option.

But of the 100,000 doses shipped to the country in late November, just 8485​ had been used, with 76,000 likely to be disposed of on April 2, the Ministry of Health said.

The days are numbered for Covid-19 vaccine passes at council facilities across the Nelson-Tasman region including its libraries.

The changes come after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday announced a significant loosening of Covid-19 rules. Those changes include removing vaccine pass requirements, most vaccine mandates, QR code scanning and outdoor gathering limits.

The easing of restrictions is too little too late for some in the wedding industry.

While the industry has so far taken the inevitable setbacks on the chin, it was desperate to see a successful 2022, Wairarapa wedding planner and venue owner Paula Bevege said.

Gathering limits for indoor venues would be increased to 200 under the red setting from Friday midnight, with no limit in the Orange setting. From April 4, vaccine pass requirements would be scrapped.

But it won’t make an ounce of difference to a disappointing 2022 season, said Bevege.

“Next season is going to be really busy, but the [easing of the gathering limits] is too late, we are too close to the end of the season. Everyone has already planned for under 100 guests,” she said.

Wedding season typically runs from September through to May with a small percentage of couples getting married during the winter months.

Omnichronicles

Stuff is documenting everyday life during the Omicron outbreak as part of our Omichronicles series.

You can read the latest one here about how Covid gave a woman her life back after two years of fear.