There are 20,907 new community cases of Covid-19, a further 15 deaths and 1016 people in hospital in Aotearoa today, the Ministry of Health says.
Photo: Unsplash / Annie Spratt
Covid-19 data visualisations: NZ in numbers
Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield says there are also 25 people in ICU or HDU and the average age of all hospitalised is 59.
Dr Bloomfield says the latest analysis shows Covid-19 case numbers have passed their peak in Auckland, and are tracking down in all three district health boards.
The seven-day rolling average of cases is 17,020. There were 34 new cases at the border.
The new deaths take the total number of publicly reported Covid-19 related deaths to 199 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths to 10.
Of the 15 people who had died, nine were from the Auckland region, three from Waikato, and three from the Wellington region. One was in their 50s, three in their 60s, two in their 70s and five in their 80s. Eight were men and seven women.
In the past 24 hours, there have been 2007 PCR tests and 43,768 reported rapid antigen tests.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced 14,463 new community cases.
Today, the MOH said there was "an increase ... in case numbers across most regions of New Zealand, however, it's not unexpected as we generally see lower testing and reporting over weekends".
As for vaccinations, of the eligible population over 12, 96.3 percent have had their first dose, 95.1 percent have had their second dose and 72.8 percent have had their booster.
The MOH said "Getting boosted continues to be one of the most important ways people can protect themselves from Omicron and severe illness.
"There is a much lower risk of being hospitalised if you are up to date with your vaccinations, which, for Omicron, includes a third or booster dose."
Tomorrow the government is set to announce any decisions regarding the possible relaxation of mandates, vaccine passes and the traffic light system.
