"This is a very sad time for whānau and friends and our thoughts and condolences are with them at this time," the ministry said in a statement.
Of the people who have died, 12 were women and eight were men.
The deaths reported today took the total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 to 777.
The seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 13.
There are 481 people in hospital, including 10 in ICU.
The locations of today's community cases are Northland (266), Auckland (2678), Waikato (547), Bay of Plenty (280), Lakes (167), Hawke's Bay (283), MidCentral (365), Whanganui (121), Taranaki (249), Tairāwhiti (88), Wairarapa (89), Capital and Coast (437), Hutt Valley (433), Nelson Marlborough (332), Canterbury (1586), South Canterbury (161), Southern (947) and the West Coast (78).
The locations of two cases are unknown.
Today's seven-day rolling average of community case numbers is 7943, while last Tuesday it was 8085.
The 481 cases in hospital are in Northland (30), Waitematā (75), Counties Manukau (70), Auckland (90), Waikato (33), Bay of Plenty (27), Lakes (two), Hawke's Bay (11), Taranaki (four), Whanganui (one), MidCentral (eight), Wairarapa (one), Hutt Valley (five), Capital and Coast (13), Nelson Marlborough (nine), Canterbury (70), South Canterbury (three), West Coast (one) and the Southern region (28).
The average age of cases in Northern region hospitals is 59.
The vaccination statuses of cases hospitalised in the Northern region are:
• Unvaccinated or not eligible: 40 cases/16 per cent
• Partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose: Five cases/2 per cent
• Double vaccinated at least seven days before being reported as a case: 77 cases/30 per cent
• Received booster at least seven days before being reported as a case: 128 cases/50 per cent
• Unknown: Five cases/2 per cent
Meanwhile, 128 Covid-19 cases have been detected at the border.
Yesterday there 6636 new cases in the community and seven people died with the virus - this brings the total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 to 757.
The seven-day rolling day average of deaths was 11.
There were 480 people in hospital, including 12 in ICU or HDU.
There are 55,588 active cases in the community in total.
The Ministry of Health said with the new school term under way, it was a timely reminder for people to continue following public health advice to stay at home and stay away from school or work if you're feeling unwell.
"Another way to protect you and your whānau is to get vaccinated if you haven't already done so.
"Vaccination remains our best defence against Covid-19 and getting boosted is an important way people can protect themselves, their whānau and their friends from the virus."
To date, 95.2 per cent of eligible New Zealanders are double dosed and 70.9 per cent are boosted.
Yesterday's numbers
On Monday, a second person who travelled from overseas was found to have the BA.4 variant of Omicron.
Both of the border identified cases with the sub-variant are isolating at home.
The variant has been reported in southern Africa and Europe, and in New South Wales, the ministry said in a statement.
"The arrival of this sub-variant in New Zealand is not unexpected.
"At this stage, the public health settings already in place to manage other Omicron variants are assessed to be appropriate for managing BA.4 and no changes are required."
Today, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins revealed details to the Herald of two new voluntary systems that will roll out as the existing vaccine pass system fades away.
By June 1, a new vaccine pass system will be unveiled and it will take into account booster doses.
