Of the 33 people whose deaths are being reported today: 13 were from Auckland region, two were from Waikato, two were from Bay of Plenty, one was from Lakes, one was from Hawke's Bay, two were from Taranaki, two were from MidCentral, one was from Wellington region, six were from Canterbury, one was from South Canterbury, two were from Southern.
Two were in their 40s, three were in their 50s, two were in their 60s, three were in their 70s, 15 were in their 80s and eight were aged over 90. Of these people, 11 were women and 22 were men.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 2038 deaths attributed to Covid-19.
In the last update, there were 9809 new cases in the community reported for the week between September 19 and 25.
Of these, 1052 were reinfections.
A further 58 deaths were also reported as attributable to the virus.
There were 166 people in hospital, including eight in intensive care.
New Zealand ditched the Covid-19 Protection Framework - aka traffic light system - early last month bringing most Covid-19 rules to an end more than two years after the country's first case was reported.
The four-tiered alert level system was introduced to New Zealanders on March 21, 2020, before it was replaced with the traffic light system at the end of 2021.
Its ending meant face masks were no longer required in most places, household contacts of a positive case were no longer required to isolate, all vaccine mandates ended and vaccination requirements for travellers and aircrew stopped.
This move came just a week after some experts urged the Government to keep core Covid-19 measures in place.
It was however welcome by top epidemiologist Michael Baker who said the framework had outlived its usefulness.
A new mortality analysis confirms vaccination is the single best way to slash the odds of dying from Covid-19.
But the Ministry of Health's just-released report sadly also showed what modellers and epidemiologists have long warned about: Covid-19's disproportionate danger to Māori, Pacific and poorer people.
Public Health Agency deputy director-general Dr Andrew Old said that, thanks to low levels of infection early in the pandemic and one of the world's highest vaccination rates, New Zealand had seen comparatively fewer Covid-19 deaths.
Modellers estimate as many as two-thirds of the population have been exposed to the virus this year, with most people experiencing a mild-to-moderate illness they could manage at home.
"But sadly, despite that, more than 2000 people have died from Covid-19, either as an underlying or contributing cause, and we remain committed to ensuring those most at risk of death from Covid-19 are prioritised in our response," Old said.
That total – of which 1289 deaths occurred with Covid-19 being officially coded as the underlying cause – happened to be around six times higher than last year's road toll.
Covering nearly 1800 Covid-attributed deaths recorded over the year to August 26, the report showed a higher risk among people who were older, unvaccinated, were Māori or Pasifika, lived in poorer areas, or had pre-existing health conditions.
While age was the single biggest determinant of risk of death – the bulk of Covid-19 mortalities to date have been recorded among Kiwis over 80 – vaccination status also mattered.
The analysis showed a 62 per cent reduction of risk of death among those who'd received two or more doses – and there was evidence, which future studies would explore further, that boosting lowered that danger even more.
