There are 49 new Covid-19 cases today in the community and MIQ today. 

Thirty-nine of the new cases are in the community and 10 are in MIQ.

There are four new border cases of Omicron, bringing the total in New Zealand to eight. All the cases have been in MIQ. 

Of the 39 new community cases, 25 are in Auckland, 11 are in the Bay of Plenty, two are in Lakes and one is in Taranaki. 

Forty-nine infected people remain in hospital. There are five infected people in intensive care or high dependency units. Two are in Auckland, two are at Middlemore and one is at North Shore 

Today's figures do not cover a full 24-hour period due to the change in reporting times to a midnight-to-midnight cycle from 9am-to-9am, the ministry said. 

Omicron, the latest variant of concern, is believed to be more infectious than the Delta strain of Covid-19 and is sweeping through the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. 

Two Omicron cases arrived in New Zealand from Singapore on separate flights - one travelled on a flight to Auckland on December 13 and the second case was on a flight to Christchurch on December 15. 

Of the eight Omicron cases, two were in a bubble but the other six cases were unrelated to each other suggesting no cross-contamination or cross-infection either in-flight or within MIQ facilities, the ministry said. 

"We are carrying out whole genome sequencing on all new border cases of Covid-19 to rapidly identify any new cases of the Omicron variant," the Ministry of Health said. 

The Jet Park quarantine facility in Mangere. Photo / Sylvie Whinray 

All passengers on flights with Omicron cases were required to complete ten days at a managed isolation facility – rather than spending the last three days at home, the ministry said. 

"Our health and MIQ teams around the country have been planning for Omicron cases at the border and will continue to manage all arrivals cautiously." 

Child dies while infected with Covid-19 

Ministry of Health officials said in a statement a child between the age of zero and 9 had died while infected with Covid. 

The tragic death marks the youngest person to die while infected with the virus. 

There have now been 49 people who have died since Covid-19 arrived on our shores last year. 

Recorded Covid deaths include all cases where a person was classified as having an active case of the virus at the time of death. In some of these cases, the underlying cause of death may have been unrelated to Covid-19. 

It is not clear if the child, believed to be a Māori boy from Counties Manukau, had any underlying medical conditions that may have contributed to his death. 

Dr Matire Harwood of the Papakura Marae Health Clinic said the child's death was "tragic and sobering". 

"Although people have been saying Covid is mild, for children with asthma and other respiratory conditions it can be really severe and we know our Māori and Pacific have higher rates of those conditions." 

She said it was critical that we do all we can to prevent children getting the virus. 

"The vaccine is the best tool and the sooner we get that into all communities and before school starts the better. 

Yesterday's cases 

There were 76 new cases of Covid-19 in the community on Friday. 

The cases were in Auckland (47), Waikato (15), Bay of Plenty (10), Lakes (1) and Taranaki (3). 

There were 51 people in hospital across New Zealand and five people in ICU or HDU. The average age of those in hospital was 53. 

Covid-19 was detected in a wastewater sample in Napier on December 15, the ministry said. There are currently no known cases of Covid in the city. 

While it could be a recently recovered case returning to the region shedding the virus, the result may also signal undetected cases in the community. 

Health officials are urging anyone in the region who has Covid-19 symptoms, no matter how mild, to get tested.