Two were in their 60s, three in their 70s, 16 in their 80s and eight were aged over 90. Nineteen were women and 10 were men.
The ministry said the number of deaths announced each day may fluctuate due to routine delays in reporting. Today's increase in reported deaths since yesterday reflects that delay
- it includes eight people who died on July 14 and 11 who died on July 15.
The 761 people in hospital with Covid are in Northland: 25; Waitematā: 130; Counties Manukau: 54; Auckland: 102; Waikato: 56; Bay of Plenty: 38; Lakes: 17; Hawke's Bay: 28; MidCentral: 30; Whanganui: 20; Taranaki: 16; Tairawhiti: 4; Wairarapa: 9; Capital & Coast/Hutt: 57; Nelson Marlborough: 8; Canterbury/West Coast: 118; South Canterbury: 11; and Southern: 38.
The average age of hospitalisations is 64.
From Monday, access to three antiviral treatments for Covid will be widened to include those aged over 75 and those who had previously been to ICU as a result of Covid. GPs could prescribe Paxlovid, Lagevrio and Veklury to those people - including providing a "back pocket prescription" people could have ready in case they tested positive for Covid at a later date.
Among those newly admitted to hospital in the last seven days, 56 were unvaccinated, three were partly vaccinated, 75 were double vaccinated and 381 had been boosted. This data is from districts with tertiary hospitals: Auckland, Canterbury, Southern, Counties Manukau, Waikato, Capital & Coast, Waitemata and Northland.
Yesterday 1181 people got their first booster and 16,870 people got their second booster. There were also 78 children aged 5-12 who got a first dose of the vaccine and 573 who got their second.
In the past 24 hours 16,004 rapid antigen test (RAT) results were reported and 3485 PCR tests were carried out. There have been 2.9 million RATs dispatched in the seven days to July 14.
The ministry has also issued a reminder that people should wear masks to help stop the spread of Covid, saying it was one of the best measures to reduce transmission of infectious respiratory illnesses.
"Even if you're fully vaccinated, or have had Covid-19, continuing to wear a face mask is important in keeping you, your whānau and your community safe.
"As a general rule, the Ministry urges people to wear a mask in public indoor settings outside the home and in poorly ventilated spaces, or when it is hard to physically distance from other people."
Masks must be worn on public transport, at transport hubs like airports and bus stations, inside public venues like museums and libraries, when visiting healthcare services and in retail businesses.
Masking was particularly important around more vulnerable people, especially those in aged care.
Yesterday's cases
The plea to mask up comes after days of more than 10,000 cases.
Yesterday there were 10,470 new coronavirus cases and 16 Covid-related deaths, with more than 770 hospitalisations, and 14 people in intensive care.
The numbers were released by the Ministry of Health just after 2pm and seven-day rolling average of community case numbers was 9994.
The seven-day rolling average for hospitalisations is 700, up from 499 this time last week.
Health officials have said the true number of daily case numbers could actually be twice that figure due to people either not testing for Covid-19 despite being sick, or testing and not reporting the fact they were positive.
The ministry said it and Te Whatu Ora–Health NZ were "closely monitoring the continued increase in Covid-19 positive cases and hospitalisations as part of our ongoing review and updating of the response to the current community outbreak".
Health officials have also again made an impassioned public push for New Zealanders to mask up when they are out and about.
The ministry said wearing a mask was one of the "best measures" to reduce the chance of catching Covid-19, or other respiratory illnesses.
"The more layers of protection people put in place - such as mask-wearing, vaccinations, and staying home when sick - the more they reduce the risk of spreading respiratory viruses.
"Even if you're fully vaccinated, or have had Covid-19, continuing to wear a face mask is important in keeping you, your whānau and your community safe.
"As a general rule, the ministry urges people to wear a mask in public indoor settings outside the home and in poorly ventilated spaces, or when it is hard to physically distance from other people."
