The seven-day rolling average of community cases today is 8335, while this time last week it was 9534.
Yesterday there were 6910 new cases in the community and a further 16 deaths were reported.
There were 836 people in hospital with the virus, including 27 in ICU - an increase of more than 100 compared to Monday's 720 and up by more than 50 per cent compared to 322 on June 26.
The vaccination statuses of new admissions to Auckland, Canterbury, Southern, Counties Manukau, Waikato, Capital, Coast and Hutt, and Northland DHB hospitals are:
• Unvaccinated or not eligible (64 cases)
• Partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (four cases)
• Double vaccinated at least seven days before being reported as a case (71 cases)
• Received booster at least seven days before being reported as a case (414 cases)
In today's Covid statement, the Ministry of Health did not provide a daily figure for Covid-19 related deaths as it typically does. It said information on the number of deaths of people with the virus, and the seven-day rolling average, was available on its website.
A total of 1396 deaths have been confirmed as attributable to Covid-19, either as the underlying cause of death or as a contributing factor.
In the past seven days, there have been an average of 17 deaths confirmed each day as being attributable to Covid-19.
Schools call for Govt help
Today's update comes as schools battle staff shortages and learning disruptions.
RNZ reported a group of 10 leaders from regional principals' associations are calling for help from the Government, saying schools were at or near breaking point because of the stress of ongoing staff and student absences.
In a letter, they implored the Government to reveal as soon as possible how it would help teens pass NCEA this year.
"The disruption to learning during this calendar school year is at levels we have never experienced before. Although affecting all students, these disruptions have disproportionately impacted our most vulnerable learners," the letter said.
"Kura are increasingly unable to deliver teaching and learning programmes or engage in agreed change processes in the face of unprecedented staff and student absences, recruitment and retention issues and surging costs [relief in particular]."
Southern wastewater results
Meanwhile, wastewater tests suggest the South has passed the peak of the current Omicron wave of Covid-19, but also confirms that cases in Otago and Southland remain substantially under-reported.
Data from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research shows that the amount of Covid-19 virus shed into the wastewater system has been steadily dropping at almost every testing site in the South.
Bluff, where viral loads are rising, and Queenstown, where they have remained static, were the exceptions among the 11 locations tracked by ESR.
However, one constant at all sites was that the amount of Covid-19 detected in the wastewater system was still tracking well above the actual number of cases being reported to the Ministry of Health - in sites such as Green Island, Mosgiel, Cromwell, Alexandra and Wanaka significantly so.