The Ministry of Health will release the latest Covid-19 figures shortly after 1pm via a statement.
Covid-19 Response Minister Ayesha Verrall confirmed on Thursday that the country will remain with the Orange traffic light institution.
This comes after a steady increase in the seven-day moving average of Covid-19 cases.
The Ministry of Health on Thursday reported 7,423 new community cases and 411 hospitalizations.
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ROBERT KITCHIN / GOED
Covid Response Minister Ayesha Verrall talks about mask use.
The seven-day moving average of community affairs was 1297 more compared to the same day last week: from Thursday it was 6114, while last Thursday it was 4817.
The Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) now expects the BA.5 variant to overtake BA.2 as the dominant Covid strain in Aotearoa by the end of July.
Models suggest BA.5 may be responsible for more than half of daily infections in as little as two weeks.