Covid 19 coronavirus: More than 10,000 cases and 16 Covid-related deaths today

New Zealand has 10,470 new coronavirus cases and 16 Covid-related deaths today.

There are 773 Covid-related hospitalisations, with 14 people in ICU.

The numbers were released by the Ministry of Health just after 2pm.

The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers today is 9994. The seven-day rolling average for hospitalisations is 700, up from 499 this time last week.

The ministry said today's reported deaths took New Zealand's death toll to 1776. The seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 16.

"Of the people whose deaths we are reporting today, three were from the Auckland region, one was from Waikato, one was from Bay of Plenty, one was from Lakes, one was from MidCentral, two were from Whanganui, five were from the Wellington region, one was from South Canterbury, and one was from Southern," the ministry said.

"One person was in their 60s, one was in their 70s, six were in their 80s and eight were aged over 90. Of these people, four were females and 12 were males."

The 773 people with Covid-19 cases in hospital are in Northland: 22; Waitematā: 141; Counties Manukau: 56; Auckland: 102; Waikato: 63; Bay of Plenty: 38; Lakes: 16; Hawke's Bay: 24; MidCentral: 31; Whanganui: 18; Taranaki: 15; Tairāwhiti: 4; Wairarapa: 12; Hutt Valley: 29; Capital & Coast: 30; Nelson Marlborough: 13; Canterbury: 102; West Coast: 1; South Canterbury: 14; Southern: 42.

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".

"The increase in cases and hospitalisations emphasises the importance of everybody doing the basics well to help prevent infection and serious illness. In particular, people should stay home if they are unwell, take a rapid antigen test (RAT) and upload the result on My Covid Record, and isolate if positive or while still symptomatic."

Given the increased surge in cases, the ministry said it was important New Zealanders were up to date with all vaccinations, including those specifically for Covid-19.

"Many are now eligible for a second booster dose, and flu vaccinations, which are free for many people."

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.

"You must wear a mask on public transport and at transport hubs like airports and bus stations, inside public venues like museums and libraries, when visiting a healthcare service, and inside retail businesses like supermarkets and shopping malls.

"Masking up is particularly important when around more vulnerable members of the community, especially those who are older, and those in aged residential care and healthcare settings where appropriate."

The ministry has also reaffirmed that from Monday the access criteria for three antiviral treatments for Covid-19 will be widened to include a wider group of people at risk of severe illness from infection.

This includes all people aged 75 years and over and those who have been admitted previously to an intensive care unit directly as a result of Covid-19.

"Nirmatrelvir with ritonavir (branded as Paxlovid), molnupiravir (branded as Lagevrio) and remdesivir, an infusion treatment (branded as Veklury) are antivirals used in the community and hospitals to treat people with early Covid-19 at risk of severe illness," the ministry said.

"These antivirals reduce the risk of severe illness, which helps take pressure off our health system.

"Among other things, this means GPs will be able to provide 'back pocket' prescriptions so that people at risk of acute respiratory illnesses can have their prescription ready should they test positive and can then start taking the medicine promptly."

Immunologist Dr Dianne Sika-Paotonu said the potential for twice as many fresh cases in New Zealand – and people who were Covid-19-positive mixing in the community – was a huge concern.

"Omicron is continuing to cause nationwide disruption for all, putting hospitals, support systems, primary care and community care under immense strain and pressure - which they've been dealing with for a while now," Sika-Paotonu said.

"Wastewater testing results have been indicating much higher Covid-19 infection levels in the community than reflected by reported figures, driving further concern people who may be unwell aren't testing or isolating, and therefore continuing to spread Covid-19.

"Concern about the under-reporting of Covid-19 case figures has been a long-standing issue, and it is estimated that the actual Covid-19 cases are double those being reported right now."

Health officials said yesterday the current wave of Omicron spread could see reported fresh cases peaking at about 21,000 a day.

Sika-Paotonu - Associate Dean (Pacific), Head of University of Otago Wellington Pacific Office, and Senior Lecturer, Pathology & Molecular Medicine, University of Otago Wellington – said new Omicron subvariants were also causing problems due to their "higher transmissibility".

She said ongoing work would also be needed to understand more about whether reinfections for Omicron and all its subvariants end up being more or less severe compared to a primary infection.

Her message to people trying to do all they could to avoid either getting Covid-19 or minimising how sick they might get was clear.

"Masks, Covid-19 vaccines and proper ventilation within the education setting remain important for protection."

New Zealand is battling a second wave of Covid infections, with more than 11,000 community cases recorded yesterday for a third straight day.

Next steps revealed

Covid-19 Minister Ayesha Verrall, director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield and new Health NZ chief executive Margie Apa briefed reporters on Thursday on the next steps in the response to the virus.

Verrall said NZ would remain at the orange traffic light setting. The Government had weighed up whether moving to red would make a significant difference, but gathering limits would only offer "an incremental benefit".

Wearing a mask, getting boosted and staying home if sick were more effective than a return to the red setting, she said.

However, red was not redundant: "This is a virus that keeps changing, therefore we do need a flexible response system.

"We need to have a response we can flex."

However, she said at the moment she believed the country could get through with more emphasis on the measures at orange.

Officials say there is no need for New Zealand to go to the red light Covid-19 setting at the moment. Photo / Michael Craig

Lockdown not necessary - precautions urged

Verrall said she did not think a lockdown was needed for this variant, noting that the effectiveness of lockdowns tended to abate the more you used them.

She said there was no "magic case numbers" threshold at which the higher red setting would be imposed - it depended on factors such as how the virus was spreading and its severity.

Verrall said the most effective measures for the current outbreak were masks, boosters, widening the scope of anti-virals and encouraging people to test.

Free masks and rapid antigen tests would be offered at collection sites, Verrall said.

People would no longer have to have Covid symptoms or be a household contact or a critical worker.

However, she said people should still book in for RAT collection, to ensure there was enough stock.

The country has 100 million RATs.

The Government is also providing 10 million child-size masks for Year 4-7 students and up to 30,000 masks a week for all other students and school staff.

Verrall said if schools took up the support of free masks in the next term, it would make a difference: "Please use it."

A new campaign to try to push along the boosters campaign would also be run.