Covid-19 Response Minister Dr. Ayesha Verrall took questions about the decision to stop having people coming into New Zealand take pre-departure Rapid Antigen Tests.
Video / Mark Mitchell
There are 16 new Covid-related deaths and 4869 new community cases today, the Ministry of Health says.
There are 370 people in hospital with the virus, including nine in intensive care.
Of the people who have died, all but two occurred in the past seven days. One death was on May 11 and another was on April 23.
Today's deaths take the total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 to 1390 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 12.
Two deaths were from Northland, six were from the Auckland region, one was from Waikato, one was from Taranaki, two were from the Wellington region, three were from Canterbury and one was from South Canterbury.
One person was in their 40s, one was in their 60s, four were in their 70s, eight were in their 80s, and two were aged over 90. Of these people, four were women and 12 were men.
More than a quarter of today's community cases are in Auckland, 1478 people, with the number of daily cases across NZ is dropping slightly.
The seven-day rolling average of community cases today is 5247, last Friday it was 6075.
Of the 370 people in hospital, eight are at Northland, 40 are at Waitematā, 30 are at Counties Manukau, 69 are at Auckland, 28 are at Waikato, 13 are at Bay of Plenty one is at Lakes, three are at Tairāwhiti, six are at Hawke's Bay, 13 are at Taranaki, one is at Whanganui, 34 are at MidCentral, two are at Wairarapa, 27 are at Hutt Valley, 14 are at Capital and Coast, ten are at Nelson Marlborough, 42 are at Canterbury, four are at South Canterbury, one is at West Coast and 24 are at Southern.
The majority of people in hospital with Covid-19 continue to be in the Auckland region, with dozens remaining in Northland, Canterbury, Wellington, MidCentral and Southern.
The Ministry of Health are now using data from DHBs across the country, which include Auckland, Canterbury, Southern, Counties Manukau, Waikato, Capital & Coast, Waitemata and Northland. Previously they only used the vaccination status of patients in Northern Region hospitals, the statement said.
The vaccination status of those in hospital at these DHBs were 34 people unvaccinated or not eligible, three partially immunised, 39 who had two jabs and 155 who had been boosted.
Today's numbers come as another Covid-19 protection measure is dropped with testing for border workers deemed no longer necessary.
From July, people employed at airports and ports will not undergo mandatory Covid-19 testing as the risk of widespread community transmission was not considered greater than that of infection in the general population.
"The Ministry of Health recognises that through regular testing, border workers have played a critical role in the country's public health response and the Ministry would like to thank them for their continued support and commitment to the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders," a ministry statement said today.
Yesterday, there were 5435 new cases of Covid-19 in the community, alongside 15 virus-related deaths.
There were 377 people in hospital, including six in intensive care.
The community cases were in Northland (144), Auckland (1,602), Waikato (391), Bay of Plenty (171), Lakes (77), Hawke's Bay (155), MidCentral (219), Whanganui (75), Taranaki (159), Tairāwhiti (40), Wairarapa (47), Capital and Coast (463), Hutt Valley (220), Nelson Marlborough (226), Canterbury (819), South Canterbury (88), Southern (492), West Coast (44), Unknown (3).
The seven-day rolling average of community cases was 5451 - last Thursday it was 6059.
Of yesterday's deaths, two were in their 30s, one was in their 50s, one was in their 60s, three were in their 70s, six were in their 80s, and two were aged over 90.
Three were from Northland, five were from the Auckland region, one from Taranaki, one from MidCentral, one from the Wellington region, one from Canterbury, one from South Canterbury and two from Southern.
The reported deaths took the total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 to 1374.
The seven-day rolling average of reported deaths was 12.
There are 38,138 active cases of Covid-19 in the community.
As of next Tuesday, people travelling to New Zealand will no longer need a negative pre-departure test. Photo / Brett Phibbs
While daily Covid-19 cases have plateaued, health officials say the country will face a challenging winter and they are urging Kiwis to pitch in to get through the season.
Auckland's Te Whānau o Waipareira Trust said it was seeing families being reinfected with Covid-19 for the third time.
The West Auckland community service's clinical director Ngaire Harris said some households were now dealing with "multiple" infections of Covid-19, including catching Omicron for a second time.
Concerningly, those families often weren't reporting positive results to the Ministry of Health.
On top of that, the return of influenza had also begun taking a toll.
"The message we're trying to push is whānau wellbeing – staying well and keeping well," Harris said.
"We are learning to live with [Covid-19] – and whānau really do care about their health now, and do have a greater awareness of what the symptoms are."
The scale of reinfection in New Zealand wasn't known as the ministry doesn't report that specific information, but a new system to collect the data was being developed.
The ministry said it has been planning for a challenging winter.
Meanwhile, as of next Tuesday, people travelling to New Zealand will no longer need a negative pre-departure test.
Pre-departure testing is one of the last border restrictions still in place.
Covid-19 Response Minister Ayesha Verrall said the Government had "taken a careful and staged approach to reopening our borders to ensure we aren't overwhelmed with an influx of Covid-19 cases. Our strategy has worked and as a result it's safe to lift pre-departure test requirements much sooner than planned.
"I'm advised the challenges pre-departure tests pose to visitors are now no longer outweighed by the public health benefits," she said.
The current rule means people coming to New Zealand by air must get a negative PCR, RAT or Lamp test 24-48 hours before departing on the flight to New Zealand depending on the type of test.
In the US, The Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisers gave a thumbs-up to vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.
The outside experts voted unanimously that the benefits of the shots outweigh any risks for children under 5 - that's roughly 18 million youngsters. They are the last age group in the US without access to Covid 19 vaccines and many parents have been anxious to protect their little children.
If all the regulatory steps are cleared, shots should be available next week.
