Four Covid-related deaths, 6380 new community cases

There were 6380 new community cases of Covid-19 reported in New Zealand yesterday and four Covidrelated deaths.

There were 508 people in hospital, including 16 cases in intensive care.

Yesterday’s seven-day rolling average of case numbers was 8085, while it was 7585 last Tuesday, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

Although this was an increase, the number of reported community cases was expected to continue to fluctuate and the overall trend was a reduction in reported cases, it said.

The deaths reported included people who had died in the previous two days. The total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 is now 687, and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 12.

Two people were from Taranaki and two from Canterbury. Two were in their 70s and two over 90.

The locations of yesterday’s reported community cases were: Northland (212), Auckland (1667), Waikato (395), Bay of Plenty (188), Lakes (113), Hawke’s Bay (168), MidCentral (222), Whanganui (71), Taranaki (184), Tairāwhiti (53), Wairarapa (77), Capital and Coast (387), Hutt Valley (203), Nelson Marlborough (233), Canterbury (1099), South Canterbury (172), Southern (864) and the West Coast (71).

The location of one case was unknown.

Meanwhile, 62 cases were detected at the border, and yesterday’s cases took New Zealand’s total active cases to 56,571.

Covid testing rates significantly dropped over the long weekend, resulting in the country’s lowest daily case numbers since the peak of the Omicron outbreak.

To date, 71.1 per cent of eligible New Zealanders have been boosted. The first and second dose rates for those aged over 12 are 96.4 per cent and 95.2 per cent, respectively.