There have been 13 more deaths of people with Covid-19, and 8182 more community cases in New Zealand, the Ministry of Health says.
The day 0 rapid antigen test (RAT) that alerted Terry Taylor, president of the New Zealand Institute of Medical Laboratory Science (NZIMLS), that he had contracted Covid-19. Photo: Supplied
There are 373 people in hospital with the coronavirus, eight of whom are in ICU.
The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers today is 6893 - last Wednesday, it was 7308.
The seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 14, and there have now been 1185 deaths of people with Covid-19 reported.
Of the the 13 deaths reported today, four were from the Auckland region, two were from Canterbury, and one each from Bay of Plenty, Tairāwhiti, Hawke's Bay, Hutt Valley, Capital and Coast, Nelson Marlborough, and Southern (DHBs), the Ministry of Health said.
"One person was in their 40s, two were in their 70s, five were in their 80s, and five were aged over 90. Of these people, six were female and seven were male."
Yesterday there were 18 deaths reported of people with Covid-19 and 8436 new community cases.
Earlier developments
Many hospitals and health facilities around the country have reported being at or near to patient capacity, and some are calling on people to not come to emergency departments unless it is an emergency, but to instead seek help from GPs and pharmacists.
Data shows teachers appear to be getting infected with Covid-19 at a much faster rate than the rest of the population, raising questions about ongoing employment issues such as exposure to risk, more staff absences, teachers leaving the profession and how long Covid could affect the workforce.
Global developments
Shanghai's two months of controversially strict lockdowns ended at midnight on Wednesday morning, prompting celebrations tempered with fear that an outbreak could return. Most of the city's 25 million residents can now freely leave home, return to work, use public transport and drive their cars.
Cuba has lifted a two-year long mask mandate, after widespread vaccinations and no deaths for three weeks.
The island, whose healthcare system is known for a focus on preventative treatment such as vaccinations, developed its own Covid-19 vaccines and was the first country to do mass vaccination for children as young as 2.
-RNZ / Reuters
