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A further 23 Covid-related deaths were reported yesterday alongside 14,120 community cases across the country and 692 hospitalisations.
Thirty people in hospital with Covid were receiving intensive care treatment.
Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the country's high hospitalisation figures was one of the reasons behind the decisionto keep the country in the red traffic light setting.
University of Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker said the West Coast was the only DHB in the country where case numbers increased from last week.
There were 76 cases reported in the region on Monday compared to 127 yesterday.
"It does look like the virus is defusing more slowly through those smaller, more dispersed rural communities. They're having more prolonged peaks of transmission."
Generally, case numbers were flattening out and experts would have a better sense of what the outbreak baseline could be in the next two weeks, he said.
"Then the question will be, will it stay at that level or will the different forces operating result in numbers starting to track up again?"
Those forces included another Covid-19 variant, waning immunity and the relaxing of public health control measures, he said.
"I would say that the most likely scenario is that numbers will track up, but it could be quite a gentle second peak."
Thirty of the 692 people in hospital yesterday with Covid-19 were in ICU. Photo / Brett Phibbs
With 2351 cases yesterday, Auckland was at about 18 per cent of its peak reached on March 4 when 13,252 cases were reported.
Meanwhile, Northland, Southern, South Canterbury and Mid Central regions were all at between 80-90 per cent of their peaks.
Baker said the number of hospitalisations outside of Auckland now outnumbered those across the region's three DHBs.
Yesterday, 333 people were at Waitematā, Counties Manukau and Auckland hospitals while 359 people were in hospitals in other parts of the country.
There were 31 people in hospital in Northland yesterday, 105 in Waitematā, 127 in Counties Manukau, 101 in Auckland, 77 in Waikato, 35 in the Bay of Plenty, 14 in Lakes, two in Tairāwhiti, 28 in Hawke's Bay, 11 in Taranaki, four in Whanganui, 21 in Mid Central, two in Wairarapa, 15 in Hutt Valley, 15 in Capital and Coast, 13 in Nelson Marlborough, 49 in Canterbury, eight in South Canterbury, five in West Coast and 29 in Southern.
The 23 Covid-related deaths reported yesterday takes the total of publicly reported deaths of people with Covid-19 to 428 and the seven-day rolling average to 18.
The deaths reported yesterday included people who had died over the previous nine days.
The Ministry of Health said delays in reporting death could be linked to people dying with Covid-19, rather than from Covid-19, and the virus being discovered only after they had died.
Of these people, eight people were from the Auckland region, six from Waikato, two from Bay of Plenty, two from Lakes, one from Whanganui, two from the Wellington region, one from Canterbury and one person was from Southern.
One person was in their 40s, five in their 60s, two in their 70s, eight in their 80s and seven were over 90.
Baker said it was too soon to say when deaths may peak – but he noted that yesterday's rolling average of deaths was a slight decline on Monday's average of 20.
Auckland Covid cases are currently at about 18per cent of their March 4 peak. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said Monday's announcement that the country would stay in the red traffic light setting was based on the high Covid numbers as well as those with the virus in hospital.
Bloomfield told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking yesterday the main difference between the red and orange setting was the 200 people limit in gatherings inside.
When told that was still affecting businesses and sectors waiting to put on concerts and recitals, for example, Bloomfield said: "Go and talk to staff who are working in those hospitals".
The Ministry of Health said case numbers yesterday were a slight increase on Monday's but this was not unexpected as there tended to be lower testing and reporting rates over the weekend.
The seven-day rolling average of community cases continues to decline – yesterday's average was 12,785 compared to 15,565 the previous Tuesday.
Yesterday's community cases were: Northland (713), Auckland (2351), Waikato (1217), Bay of Plenty (742), Lakes (365), Hawke's Bay (693), Mid Central (773), Whanganui (337), Taranaki (556), Tairāwhiti (178), Wairarapa (128), Capital and Coast (902), Hutt Valley (489), Nelson Marlborough (577), Canterbury (2,225), South Canterbury (279), Southern (1456) and the West Coast (127).
