Monday February 28
Health officials are concerned about the spread of Covid-19 at the protest in Parliament.
This comes after 17 people connected to the protest have tested positive for the virus - but reluctance from protesters to get tested means the true number of cases is likely to be higher.
The Ministry of Health is advising people at the protest or those who have been to the protest to get a test if they have cold and flu symptoms, and to isolate until they receive their result.
In total, there are 14,633 new cases of Covid-19 across Aotearoa today.
Of these, 208 are in Northland, 9305 are in Auckland, 1530 in Waikato, 762 in Bay of Plenty, 265 in Lakes, 138 in Hawke's Bay, 175 in MidCentral, 30 in Whanganui, 67 in Taranaki, 60 in Tairāwhiti, 52 in Wairarapa, 604 in Capital and Coast, 281 in Hutt Valley, 178 in Nelson Marlborough, 573 in Canterbury, 24 in South Canterbury, 372 in Southern, 3 in West Coast and 6 that haven't been assigned to a district health board area.
Hospitalisations and vaccinations
There are 344 people in hospital, with 5 of those people in intensive care or high dependency units.
The average age of people currently in hospital is 53.
96.5 percent of New Zealand's eligible population have had the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and 95 percent have had a second dose.
Unvaccinated people are being four-times overrepresented in Covid-19 hospitalisations.
Only 3 percent of eligible New Zealander's have no doses of the vaccine but unvaccinated people currently represent 12 percent of the people hospitalised in Auckland and Northland.
Rapid Antigen Tests and pet safety
An additional 10.8 million Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) arrived in the country over the weekend, following the 5.2 million that arrived on Thursday.
The Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is warning pet owners to keep RATs away from their animals.
The tests contain a small amount of a preservative called Azide, which can be toxic if consumed.
In a statement, the SPCA said the amount of Azide is small enough to pose no health risk to humans, but could be harmful if consumed by animals.
The SPCA's advise was to simply store and dispose of the tests in a way that keeps them out of reach of animals.
Click here for a list of updated locations of interest.
Top image: A rapid antigen test (RAT) showing a positive result for Covid-19. (File photo) Photo: Solovyova/iStock
More stories:
The anti-mandate protesters stuck in the South Island
New Zealanders protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine: in photos
Auckland woman takes her manager to Human Rights Commission over period stigma