Closing in on 1000 deaths

New Zealand is moving closer to recording 1000 Covid deaths, with a further eight deaths reported by the Ministry of Health yesterday.

The number of reported Covid deaths now sits at 986 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 16.

There were 9843 new community cases reported by the Ministry of Health in a statement released at 1pm. There were 421 in hospital, including, 10 in ICU.

Of the eight people whose deaths the ministry reported on Tuesday, three were from the Southern region, two from Auckland, two from Northland, and one from Canterbury.

One person was aged in their 60s, four people were in their 70s, and three were aged over 90. Of these people, four were women and four were men.

Nelson Marlborough had 320 new community cases.

Nationwide, the seven-day rolling average of community case numbers on Tuesday was 7795 – last Tuesday it was 7927.

There were 63 new imported cases.