The following is a timeline of theCOVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand during 2022.

Data about the previous day is extracted from theInstitute of Environmental Science and Research's database at 9:00 am daily and is publicly released by theMinistry of Health around 1:00 pm.

NB: Clicking on any of the years at the top of the table brings you to Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand (2022)

On 2 January, two new deaths were reported atAuckland City Hospital within the past 48 hours.^[35]

On 8 January, two new locations of interests were identified inRotorua including aBurger Fuel restaurant andBP Connection petrol station.^[36]

On 10 January, two new locations of interests were identified inQueenstown including aSkyCity casino.^[37]

On 12 January, theMinistry of Health reported two new deaths. These fatalities included a man in his 30s who died at home on 5 January and a man in his 60s who died atMiddlemore Hospital on 9 January.^[38]

On 19 January, health authorities confirmed that two COVID-19 positive individuals in Auckland (anAuckland Airport worker and a household contact of an MIQ worker) had the Omicron variant.^[39]

By 20 January, theHawke's Bay region had reported a total of six cases in the region, five of them linked to a positive case who visited a fitness class.^[40]

On 21 January, nine cases were reported inMotueka in theNelson–Marlborough Region.^[41]

By 22 January, the number of cases inHastings had risen to 13.^[42]

On 27 January, 34 new Omicron cases were reported, bringing the total number of Omicron community cases to 90.^[43] That same day, the Soundsplash music festival which took place inHamilton between 21 and 23 January was identified as a location of interest. Five attendees had tested positive for COVID-19, with one testing positive for the Omicron variant.^[44] By 28 January, 68 people were considered close contacts of the infected, with health experts warning that the Soundsplash festival could become asuperspreader event.^[45]

On 28 January, 15 new Omicron cases were reported, bringing the total number of Omicron community cases to 105.^[46]

On 30 January, the Health Ministry confirmed that a patient in their 70s atNorth Shore Hospital had died from COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 53. Due to technical issues, the Health Ministry had not included 40 new cases in Auckland for the daily report.^[47]

On 4 February, New Zealand reported a record 209 new community: 21 inNorthland, 99 in theAuckland Region, 51 inWaikato, 15 inRotorua, 15 inBay of Plenty, three inHawke's Bay, four inTairāwhiti and one in MidCentral. In addition, 64 cases were reported in managed isolation.^[77]

On 7 February, several schools reported positive cases among students and staff including Te Mata Primary School (four students) inHastings'Havelock North suburb,Hamilton Boys' High School (one student), Hamilton Christian School (one student), Rototuna Junior and Senior High School (one student), Melville Intermediate School (one student) and Prospect School (one staff member) in Auckland'sGlen Eden suburb.^[78][79]

On 10 February,Queenstown in theSouth Island'sOtago region reported two community cases. These mark the first new community cases in theSouthern District Health Board since 17 April 2020.^[80] That same day, two students at Ilminister Intermediate School inGisborne in the North Island tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, half the school and seven teachers were into self-isolation.^[81] Later that day, a community case was reported inDunedin. The individual had spent time inWānaka andCromwell during their infectious period.^[82]

On 11 February, two community cases were reported inInvercargill andGore, New Zealand in the South Island'sSouthland Region. Both cases had previously visited the Queenstown area.^[83]

On 12 February, six staff and seven patients atAuckland City Hospital tested positive for COVID-19. In response, all patients and two staff at two wards for the elderly were ordered to undergo testing.^[84]

On 13 February, a positive case was reported at Musselburgh School inDunedin. In response, all Year 5 and Year 6 students at the school were identified as close contacts with families being asked to get their children tested.^[85]

On 14 February, 19 cases were reported inOtago and Southland, bringing the total number of cases in theSouthern District Health Board to 51.^[86]

On 15 February, a student atGore Main School tested positive for COVID-19; prompting 25 other students, three teachers, and two teacher aides to go into self-isolation. In addition, Gore Preschool was closed as a precaution after a visitor tested positive for COVID-19.^[87]

On 17 February, Public Health South and theUniversity of Otago confirmed that two parties held onCastle Street and Hyde Street between 12 and 15 February during Orientation Week were close contact sites. Students who attended the parties were advised by health authorities to get tested.^[88][89] Though the University advised all students attending the party to get tested, confusion emerged when local health providers including WellSouth opted to only test individuals who were symptomatic or close contacts.^[89]

By 18 February, several Dunedin schools including Carisbrook School, Bradford School,Balmacewen Intermediate School,Otago Boys' High School,Columba College, and Queenstown'sWakatipu High School had reported positive cases.^[90]

On 21 February, two new deaths were reported in Auckland. One was a patient atMiddlemore Hospital while the other was a patient in their 70s atAuckland City Hospital.^[91]

On 22 February, a Dunedin pathology worker at Southern Community Laboratory tested positive for COVID-19.^[92] That same day,King's andQueen's High Schools in Dunedin also reported positive cases.^[93]

From 24 February,RATs are now included in the daily tally separate fromPCR tests.^[72] In addition, health authorities confirmed the death of another patient atMiddlemore Hospital in Auckland. That same day, theConvoy 2022 New Zealand's Wellington protest camp was identified by the Health Ministry as a "location of interest."^[94] People present the occupation between 11.55am and 11pm on 19 February and 11am and 11.59pm on 20 February were considered close contacts.^[95]

On 25 February, five new deaths were reported in hospital, bringing the death toll to 62. Two were from Auckland'sNorth Shore Hospital, two fromWaikato and one fromTauranga.^[96]

On 28 February,David Parker tested positive for COVID-19, become the first New ZealandMember of Parliament to test positive for the disease.^[97]

On 6 March, theChatham Islands recorded its first two cases of COVID-19. In response, theCanterbury District Health Board distributed rapid antigen kits to all households residing on the islands.^[129]

On 7 March, four Members of Parliament includingNational Party MPSimon Bridges, Police MinisterPoto Williams,Attorney GeneralDavid Parker, andLabour Party MPAnahila Kanongata'a-Suisuiki tested positive for COVID-19. In addition,Māori Party co-leaderRawiri Waititi entered into isolation after his family tested positive.^[130]

By 8 March, National Party leaderChristopher Luxon along with fellow National MPsMark Mitchell andStuart Smith had tested positive for COVID-19. In addition a third of National MPs and six Labour MPs had entered into self-isolation after being identified as close contacts.^[131]

On 10 March, the death statistic definition was changed to include all cases who died within 28 days of being reported as a COVID-19 case even if their cause of death was ultimately unrelated.^[107] Because of this the Ministry also began reporting separate tallies of deaths classified as being clearly caused by COVID-19 and clearly not caused by it.^[132]

On 16 March, the COVID-19 Response MinisterChris Hipkins tested positive for COVID-19.^[133]

By 30 March, theSouthern District Health Board had reported 8,336 active cases in the Otago and Southland regions.^[134]

On 2 April,Radio New Zealand reported that men accounted for two thirds of COVID-19 deaths in New Zealand, citing figures released by theMinistry of Health. The Health Ministry confirmed that 190 of the COVID-19 fatalities reported in 2022 were men, compared with 114 women. EpidemiologistMichael Baker stated that these trends followed overseas patterns but also identified underlying health conditions and age as bigger factors than biological sex in influencing COVID-19 death rates. In addition, Health Ministry figures confirmed that slightly more women than men were infected by COVID-19, with women accounting for 56% of those hospitalised with the virus.^[165]

On 1 May, the Ministry of Health confirmed its first case of the BA.4 variant of theSARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. The individual had arrived from South Africa on 22 April and tested positive on 24 April.^[197] The second case of the BA.4 variant was reported on 2 May.^[198]

On 8 May, New Zealand reported its first case of the BA.5 variant of the Omicron variant at the border. The individual had arrived from South Africa on 26 April and tested positive on 1 May.^[199] The following day, two more cases of the BA.5 variant were reported at the border. Both cases originated in South Africa.^[200]

On 10 May, the total number of cases in New Zealand exceeded the 1 million mark, rising to 1,005,674.^[175]

On 14 May,Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern tested positive for COVID-19.^[201] Her partnerClarke Gayford had earlier tested positive for COVID-19 on 8 May.^[202]

On 17 May, the total number of recoveries in NZ exceeded the 1 million mark, reaching 1,004,731.^[182]

On 18 May, the Health Ministry's announced death toll exceed the 1,000 mark, reaching 1,017. This figure includes COVID-deaths that occurred more than 28 days after a COVID-19 case was reported and deaths with incomplete details.^[183]

On 22 May 2022,Mayor of WellingtonAndy Foster tested positive for COVID-19.^[203]

On 3 June, the first four community cases of the Omicron subvariant BA.5 and the first case of the BA.4 subvariant were reported in New Zealand.^[232]

On 30 June, Deputy Prime MinisterGrant Robertson tested positive for COVID-19.^[233]

On 4 July,University of Canterbury mathematics professor and Covid-19 modellerMichael Plank described the rapid spread of BA.5 variant cases throughout the country as a second wave of COVID-19 infections. He estimated that the BA.5 variant would overtake the BA.2 variant as the dominant variant within New Zealand in a matter of weeks.^[265]

On 6 July, no update was released due to technical difficulties on theMinistry of Health's website. As a result, the daily update was delayed till the following day.^[239]

On 7 July, the Ministry of Health updated the daily reports to include reinfections.^[240]

On 19 July,Public Health Agency Deputy Director-General Dr.Andrew Old announced that the Health Ministry would be changing the reporting of deaths from people who had died of a COVID-19 infection within 28 days to people who had either died as a result of a COVID-19 infection or where COVID-19 was a contributing factor to their death.^[266]

On 25 July, the national death toll exceed 2,000, reaching 2,006. 836 COVID-19 cases were in hospital, with Christchurch Hospital reporting 169 cases; its highest number since the COVID-19 pandemic began.^[267] The following day, the Ministry of Health revised the definition of COVID-19 deaths from deaths within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 to deaths attributed to COVID-19.^[259]

On 10 August,Radio New Zealand reported that 87 people had died of COVID-19 in their homes since March 2022. According to figures released by the public health serviceTe Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand), an average of four people have been dying from COVID-19 in their homes since the outbreak of the Omicron virus in New Zealand. 92% of the deceased were aged over 60 years. In terms of ethnic composition,Europeans accounted for over 50% of deaths,Māori accounted for 18% of deaths, andPasifika accounted for 19% of deaths. In terms of vaccination status, 22% of the decease were unvaccinated, 25% were fully vaccinated, and 49% had received vaccine boosters.^[299]

On 13 August, the Ministry of Health confirmed there were 546 COVID-19 patients in hospital including ten in intensive care. The Health Ministry also confirmed that a total of 1,750 deaths could be attributed to COVID-19, with an average of 14 deaths occurring over the past week.^[300]

On 13 September, the Ministry of Health announced that it would be shifting its release of COVID-19 updates from daily reports to weekly reports. Future COVID reports will be published on Monday, with the next due to be released on 19 September.^[313][316]

On 13 October, the Ministry of Health reported that the new Omicron subvariant BQ.1.1 was discovered in a COVID-19 positive person andSouth Island wastewater samples.^[322]

On 17 October, the Ministry of Health acknowledged that it had under-reported the number of people hospitalised with COVID-19 throughout the entire pandemic in New Zealand by 5,000. As a result, the official figure was revised from 14,043 to 19,476.^[323]

By 27 October, the Ministry of Health reported that cases were averaging over 1,500 per day. 3,575 cases were reported that day while 3,923 cases were reported on 26 October. The Ministry described this surge in cases as part of a "third wave" of COVID-19 cases that year.^[324]

By 7 November,Radio New Zealand reported that the weekly rolling average of COVID-19 cases had risen by more than 60% since September 2022, leading to a third wave of COVID infections. 15% of the 20,802 cases reported over the past week were re-infections. In addition, the hospitalisation and death rates increased during that period; with 322 in hospital, 8 in intensive care, and 13 deaths. In addition, the population's immunity to COVID-19 was affected by long gaps between boosters and past infections and new overseas COVID strains such asXBB andBQ.1. In response, several public health experts including epidemiologistMichael Baker, immunologistAnna Brooks, and vaccinologistHelen Petousis-Harris called for the reinstatement of mask mandates and government support for vaccine rollouts including theBivalent vaccine.^[329]

On 19 December, the Government confirmed that New Zealand's COVID-19 settings would remain unchanged over the summer with positive cases expected to isolate for seven days. The seven day rolling average for new daily cases is 6,099, making it the worst week in the latest Omicron outbreak. Based on these figures,University of Auckland computational evolution senior lecturer Dr David Welch estimated that two or three out of every 100 individuals was being infected.College for Emergency Medicine chair Kate Allan expressed concerns that the movement of tourists to theCoromandel,Thames,Northland Region,Queenstown andWānaka could place hospitals under strain.University of Otago epidemiologist DrMichael Baker advised people to wear respirator masks in shopping malls and supermarkets.^[334]