There are 744 new cases of Covid in the community today, on the eve of the country moving into the next phase of its response. 

It comes after consecutive record days that have seen case numbers surge. The high numbers - and resulting queues at testing stations - have led to a change in the rules, with health bosses saying only get tested under specific circumstances. 

Forty people with Covid-19 are in hospitals at Whangārei, North Shore, Middlemore, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, the Ministry of Health said in its 1pm update. 

None are in intensive care. The average age of those hospitalised in 59. 

There are 19 cases of Covid-19 detected at the border. 

The shift to phase 2 of the Government's Omicron response plan comes in anticipation of a wave of thousands of cases of the variant sweeping through the country. 

Auckland remains the centre of the outbreak with 535 new cases. There are other cases across the country - Northland (43), Waikato (69), Bay of Plenty (8), Lakes (10), Hawke's Bay (1), MidCentral (6), Taranaki (2), Tairāwhiti (7), Wairarapa (1), Capital and Coast (5), Hutt Valley (1), Nelson Marlborough (9), Canterbury (9) and the Southern region (30) 

The ministry has also extended the deadline for the health and disability sector to have their vaccine booster until 11:59pm on February 24, 2022. 

The new dates also applied to any workers covered by the health mandated dates because of the work they undertake in corrections, FENZ, defence, education and police. 

"People who are vaccinated are less likely to get seriously unwell or be hospitalised than people who haven't been vaccinated," the Ministry said. 

"The booster vaccine offers a high level of protection against Omicron, so if it's been three months since you got your second dose, please get your booster as soon as possible." 

The ministry said in a statement it was encouraging to see a high level of testing this week - but it was important the right people get tested for the right reasons. 

While there was good testing capacity throughout the country, unnecessary testing could delay results for those who urgently need them, it said. 

The ministry said people should only get tested if they had cold or flu symptoms, if they had been at a location of interest, or if they had been asked to get tested by a health official. 

The ministry was anticipating continued high demand for Covid-19 testing sites and requested people be patient. 

"Our frontline staff across the health sector are doing the best they can to help in a timely way." 

In the last 24 hours, 21,070 Covid-19 tests had been administered in total. The rolling average for the last seven days for Covid-19 tests was 21,742. 

Meanwhile, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins revealed new rules for travellers that will come into force alongside step one of the borders reopening on February 28. 

Travellers would now be able to self-isolate for seven days instead of having to go through MIQ as long as they are fully vaccinated and are able to return a negative test before flying. 

Yesterday there were 981 new cases in the community. The day before there were 810, and the day before that there were 454. 

At midnight tonight isolation periods for contacts reduce from 10 days to seven, the focus of contact tracing will shift to "high-risk" exposure events and employees who are part of the "critical workforce" can get out of their isolation requirements if they produce a negative RAT test. 

Queenstown Chamber of Commerce chief executive Ruth Stokes says the move to phase 2 makes little difference for the resort town's businesses. 

On vaccinations, 96 per cent of those eligible, and aged 12 and older, had now received one dose of the vaccine while 95 per cent had received two. (edited) 

Sixty one per cent of those eligible for a booster had received it. 

Yesterday, 580 first doses, 1,233 second doses, 1,466 paediatric doses and 47,573 booster doses were administered. 

For eligible Māori aged 12+, 90 per cent have had one dose and 86 per cent had received two doses. For eligible Pacific peoples, aged 12+, 97 per cent have had one dose and 95 per cent have received two.