Health Director-General Dr Ashley Bloomfield has reported 21,616 new community cases of Covid-19 today.
His ministry says today’s case number is higher than yesterday’s number but it’s not unexpected to see variability.
It also says it’s not unusual to have a lower number of tests on a weekend compared to the number of tests on a weekday, and this can have a follow-on impact for cases identified.
Of the new cases, there are 708 in Northland, 6085 in Auckland, 2062 in Waikato, 1424 in Bay of Plenty, 633 in Lakes, 1,111 in Hawke's Bay, 888 in Mid Central, 276 in Whanganui, 510 in Taranaki, 446 in Tairāwhiti, 229 in Wairarapa, 1584 in Capital and Coast, 987 in Hutt Valley, 524 in Nelson-Marlborough, 2642 in Canterbury, 217 in Canterbury, 1238 in Southern and 43 in West Coast DHBs. Just nine are of unknown location.
Two deaths are also being reported today, one in Southern (Otago/Southland) and the other in Capital and Coast DHBs. Both, one man and one woman, were aged over 70.
Hospitalisations remain under 1000, with 960 people with Covid-19 in hospitals across Aotearoa and 22 people in ICU.
Of those in hospital, there are 23 in Northland, 187 in North Shore, 245 in Middlemore, 200 in Auckland, 77 in Waikato, 35 in Bay of Plenty, nine in Lakes, one in Tairāhwiti, 23 in Hawke's Bay, 14 in Taranaki, 20 in Mid Central, two in Whanganui, 22 in Hutt Valley, 33 in Capital and Coast, seven in Wairarapa, 12 in Nelson-Marlborough, 33 in Canterbury, three in South Canterbury and 14 in Southern hospitals.
"There are 559 people in hospital in the northern region and, of those, 40%, or 223, are aged 70 or over, and the average age is 58," Dr Bloomfield says.