Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Seven new Covid deaths, 7043 community cases

There are seven new Covid deaths and 7043 community cases, the Ministry of Health says.

There are 468 people in hospital with the virus, 15 of them in intensive care.

This is down from the highs of 1016 people in hospital on March 22 and 33 people in ICU on March 21.

The majority of severe cases are in Auckland and Christchurch.

The deaths reported today are for people who have died over the past three days. One was in their 60s, three were in their 70s, two were in their 80s and one was over 90. Three were women and four were men.

They were from across the country: one in Northland, one in Auckland, one in Waikato, one in MidCentral, two in Canterbury, and one in Southern.

"Out of respect, we will be making no further comment [on the deaths]," the ministry said in today's statement.

Despite the declining rates, the ministry warned that ongoing community transmission meant "it is important we remain vigilant".

"That means continuing to follow public health advice to stay at home, away from school or work if you're feeling unwell."

Of the people in hospital, 31 are in Northland, 75 in Waitematā, 60 in Counties Manukau, 94 in Auckland City, 39 in Waikato, 12 in Bay of Plenty, 2 in Lakes, 13 in Hawke's Bay, 5 in Taranaki, 3 in Whanganui, 8 in MidCentral, 9 in Hutt Valley, 11 at Capital and Coast, 6 in Nelson Marlborough, 64 in Canterbury, 3 in South Canterbury, 2 at West Coast and 31 at Southern.

The average age of people in hospital is 60.

The deaths take the total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 to 744. The seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 11.

To date, 95.2 per cent of eligible New Zealanders, aged 12 and older, are double dosed and 71 per cent are boosted.

Of eligible children aged 5 to 11, 54.3 per cent have had one dose and 23.6 per cent have had two doses.

For Māori children aged 5 to 11, 35.3 per cent have had one dose and 11 per cent have had two.

For Pacific children in this age group, these figures are 47.5 per cent and 12.9 per cent, respectively.

Of the deaths reported yesterday, two were from the Auckland region, one from Bay of Plenty, one from Waikato, one from Taranaki, one from Whanganui, one from MidCentral, one from the Wellington region, five from Canterbury and one from Southern.

One person was in their 50s, two in their 70s, seven in their 80s, and four were over 90.

There were 8242 new community cases of Covid-19 yesterday.

"With ongoing community transmission across the motu it is important we all remain vigilant. Please continue to follow public health advice to stay at home, away from school or work if you're feeling unwell," the ministry said.

"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.

"Vaccination remains our best defence against Covid-19 and a booster – in addition to first and second doses – gives you greater immunity against Omicron and severe illness. There's a much lower risk of being hospitalised if you're up to date with your Covid-19 vaccinations."

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