"Please continue to follow public health advice to stay at home, away from school or work if you're feeling unwell.
"Another way to protect you, your whānau and friends is to get vaccinated, if you aren't already. It's free and available for everyone aged five and over."
The locations of the community cases reported today are: Northland (276), Auckland (2519), Waikato (550), Bay of Plenty (335), Lakes (129), Hawke's Bay (281), MidCentral (344), Whanganui (108), Taranaki (215), Tairāwhiti (137), Wairarapa (95), Capital and Coast (589), Hutt Valley (236), Nelson Marlborough (358), Canterbury (1505), South Canterbury (185), Southern (1065) and the West Coast (113).
The locations of seven cases is unknown and 80 cases have been detected at the border.
Across New Zealand, there are 53,917 active community cases of the virus. An active case is an infection that was identified in the past seven days but is not yet considered to have recovered.
There are 484 cases in hospitals across the country. They are in Northland (36), Waitematā (74), Counties Manukau (60), Auckland (105), Waikato (33), Bay of Plenty (14), Lakes (three), Tairāwhiti (one), Hawke's Bay (12), Taranaki (seven), Whanganui (three), MidCentral: 7; Wairarapa (seven), Hutt Valley (14), Capital and Coast (nine), Nelson Marlborough (six), Canterbury (60), South Canterbury (four), West Coast (one) and the Southern region (33).
The average age of cases hospitalised in the Northern Region is 59.
The vaccination statuses of cases in Northern Region (Northland and Auckland) hospitals is:
• Unvaccinated or not eligible: 45 cases / 17.31 per cent
• Partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose: Five cases / 1.92 per cent
• Double vaccinated at least seven days before being reported as a case: 79 cases / 30.38 per cent
• Received booster at least seven days before being reported as a case: 124 cases / 47.69 per cent
• Unknown: Seven cases / 2.69 per cent.
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The Covid-related deaths reported today took the total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 to 723. The seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 13.
Of the people whose deaths were reported today, two were from the Auckland region, three from Bay of Plenty, two from Waikato, one from Taranaki, one from MidCentral, one from Hawke's Bay and three people were from Canterbury
Two were in their 50s, two in their 60s, one in their 70s, three in their 80s, and five were over 90.
Five of the people whose deaths were reported today were women and eight were men.
Seventy-one per cent of people who are due for their booster have received it.
The Ministry of Health said vaccination was the country's best defence against the virus and a booster gave a person greater immunity against Covid-19 and severe illness.
"There's a much lower risk of being hospitalised if you're up to date with your Covid-19 vaccinations."
Of 5-11 year olds, 54.3 per cent have had one dose of Covid-19 vaccine and 23.1 per cent have had two doses.
For Māori children (5-11 years), 35.3 per cent have had one dose and 10.8 per cent are double dosed.
For Pacific children, these figures are 47.5 per cent and 12.6 per cent, respectively.
Tairāwhiti sees jump after long weekend
Meanwhile, rising Covid case numbers after the long weekend have led health officials at one DHB to warn the region is not out of the woods yet.
There were 110 new cases on Wednesday in Tairāwhiti and 139 today, with three people in hospital.
Ministry of Health data shows the seven-day rolling average for the region is 84 cases.
"Cases are back on the rise again whānau...We're not out of the woods," Hauora Tairāwhiti posted to social media.
In Tairāwhiti, those aged 30-39 had the most new cases.
"A lot of us travelled for the long weekend and reconnected with friends and whānau," the DHB said. "We must continue to protect our vulnerable by acting like we're infectious with Covid."
Overall New Zealand's case numbers have been trending down, though the Omicron outbreak continues to see numbers climb in the South Island.
The first batch of a new antiviral drug is due to land in New Zealand today, with hopes it will dampen down hospital numbers and death rates over the winter months.
Molnupiravir is prescribed under the brand name Lagevrio, and manufactured by Merck Sharp and Dohme.
New Zealand signed a pre-purchase agreement for the drug last year.
