There are 11,382 new cases of Covid-19 in the community today, including 1,045 in the south, and a further 23 deaths from the virus.
Of the deaths reported today, four were from the Auckland area, one from Waikato, one from Bay of Plenty, one from Lakes, one from Taranaki, one from Hawke’s Bay, two from MidCentral, one from the Wellington area, two from Nelson/Marlborough, seven came from Canterbury, one from South Canterbury and one from South.
The ministry said one of the people was under 10 years old, five in their 70s, nine in their 80s and eight over 90s. Eleven were women and 12 were men.
The deaths occurred in the past seven days, bringing the total number of publicly reported deaths from Covid-19 to 1760. The seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 20.
There were also 765 people in the hospital, 11 of whom were in intensive care or a high-dependency unit. In the southern DHB area, 45 people are in hospital with the virus.
Cases in hospital: North Country: 17; Waitemata: 133; Provinces of Manukau: 54; Auckland: 105; Waikato: 55; Bay of Plenty: 47; Lakes: 17; Hawke’s Bay: 27; Middle Central: 33; Whanganui: 18; Taranaki: 15; Tairawiti: 4; Wairarapa: 12; Capital and coast: 32; Hutt Valley: 27; Nelson Marlborough: 12; Canterbury: 94; West Coast: 3; South Canterbury: 15; South: 45†
Speaking at a Covid-19 media conference, Health Director-General Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the number of cases in all four regions around New Zealand had risen in recent weeks – a 32 percent increase in the week ending 10 July compared to the week before.
This has led to an increase in hospital admissions, he says, which “have gone pretty quickly.”
“Among people 65 and older, they rose 33 percent over the weekend through July 10.”
He says test results from frontier workers and wastewater indicate a significant rise in cases in all regions in recent weeks, and the ministry believes only about half of the cases are found through testing.
“Some of those will be people who are asymptomatic, and some may be testing but not uploading their results and there may be people who are just not testing.”
The seven-day moving average of community cases today is 9,826.
334 new Covid cases were also reported at the border.
The ministry reminded people to mask: “The more layers of protection we put in — such as wearing masks, vaccinating and staying home when sick — the more we reduce the risk of spreading respiratory viruses.”
“Even if you have been fully vaccinated or have had Covid-19, it is important to continue wearing a face mask to keep you, your whānau and your community safe.”
† RNZ/ODT Online