There are 20,907 new community cases of Covid-19 to report today and 15 Covid-related deaths, Director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has revealed.
He gave an update on case numbers and the pandemic response alongside primary care lead Dr Joe Bourne.
The seven-day rolling average of cases is now 17,020.
The 15 deaths announced today brings the seven-day rolling average of deaths to 10, the highest it has been, he said.
The Ministry of Health confirmed in its daily statement that nine of the deaths announced today were in Auckland, three were in Waikato and three in Wellington.
One of these people was in their 50s, three in their 60s, six in their 70s, and five were in their 80s.
Eight were men and seven were women.
There are 1016 people with Covid-19 in hospital, 25 of these are in ICU or HDU.
The Southern District Health Board area has reported a record number of daily cases with 1439.
Cases in hospital: total number 1016: Northland: 28; North Shore: 170; Middlemore: 227; Auckland: 210; Waikato: 79; Bay of Plenty: 39; Lakes: 10; Tairāwhiti: 4, Hawke’s Bay: 43; Taranaki: 11; Whanganui: 7; MidCentral: 19; Hutt Valley: 23; Capital and Coast: 45; Wairarapa: 8; Nelson Marlborough: 12; Canterbury: 56; South Canterbury: 2; Southern: 23
Location of new community cases: Northland (802), Auckland (4,291), Waikato (1,882), Bay of Plenty (1,218), Lakes (594), Hawke’s Bay (1,243), MidCentral (954), Whanganui (399), Taranaki (636), Tairāwhiti (382), Wairarapa (323), Capital and Coast (1,377), Hutt Valley (808), Nelson Marlborough (683), Canterbury (3,488), South Canterbury (318), Southern (1,439), West Coast (50); Unknown (20)
Dr Bloomfield said their latest analyses showed that Covid case numbers have passed their peak in the metro Auckland area.
This included falling case numbers in all three Auckland district health boards, he said.
Case numbers in Auckland today total 4291, a third of what they were on March 4.
"Analysis also showed that the increase in case numbers across the rest of the country is also slowing".
Though the pattern does differ by district health board.
However, case numbers are still "very much on the increase in the South Island", he said.
Speaking about hospitalisations Dr Bloomfield said the average length of stay for people in intensive care was five days.
Early in the outbreak were younger people often treated and discharged overnight, but this had changed.
