There are ten new Covid-19 deaths in New Zealand.
The country has recorded 5933 new cases in the last 24 hours.
There are 537 people in hospital with Covid, 20 of those in ICU.
The latest numbers mean that the seven-day rolling average of cases continues to decline, with today's seven-day rolling average at 8,170 – while last Sunday it was 10,543.
Case numbers in New Zealand continue to decline, overall, but the number is expected to keep fluctuating for a while.
The Ministry of Health pointed out in today's release that some of its usual breakdowns in case numbers are unavailable, due to the Easter public holiday.
Today's ten Covid deaths bring the total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 in New Zealand to 586 — and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths to 14.
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"This is a very sad time for whānau and friends and our thoughts are with them," MOH said in a statement.
The Ministry is reminding holidaymakers around the country that they should have plans in place in case they contract Covid-19 while away from home, or in case they become a household contact of a Covid case.
The need to isolate wherever they are on holiday could result in added costs to people travelling for Easter.
"You would need to self-isolate and likely remain wherever you test positive or become a household contact, so there may be extra costs involved in paying for additional accommodation and changing your travel plans," the Ministry said in a statement.
According to the Ministry, there are three things holidaymakers can do to help protect themselves and those around them: make sure their vaccination is up to date, wear a mask, and stay home if unwell or awaiting results of a Covid-19 test.
From Monday, new arrivals into New Zealand who test positive for Covid-19 within seven days of arrival will be reported as a border case – changing it from the current definition of within 14 days.
Any recent arrivals testing positive after seven days will now be reported as a community case.
There were 17 first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine administered yesterday across New Zealand, as well as 62 second doses, one third primary dose. A total of 825 people received a booster dose yesterday, while 54 paediatric first doses and 564 paediatric second doses were also administered.
To date, there have been 4,026,184 first doses of the vaccine given in New Zealand, as well as 3,976,757 second doses; 31,684 third primary doses; 2,613,123 booster doses; 260,497 paediatric first doses and 104,764 paediatric second doses
Of the 537 cases currently in hospital with Covid-19, 45 are in Northland, 80 are in Waitemata, 80 in Auckland, 77 in Counties Manukau, 32 in the Waikato and 27 in the Bay of Plenty.
A total of 54 people are in hospital with Covid-19 in Canterbury and 31 in Southern.
The remainder of the hospitalisations are in Lakes (8), Tairāwhiti (1), Hawke's Bay (8), Taranaki (12), Whanganui (3), MidCentral (19), Wairarapa (3), Hutt Valley (24), Capital and Coast (16), Nelson Marlborough (9), South Canterbury (6) and West Coast (2).
On testing, the Ministry of Health has reported 1,162 PCR tests in the last 24 hours, as well as 5,825 Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs). The weekly rolling average of PCR tests is currently at 2,359.
In the last seven days, as of April 14, there have been 3.2 million RATs dispatched
There are also 52 new border cases today.
There are currently 57,159 active cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand.
Since the start of the pandemic, New Zealand has now recorded 822,643 cases.
The Ministry of Health will today release the latest Covid numbers, as Kiwis continue to travel around the country for the Easter holidays.
There were 13,636 new community cases of Covid-19 and a further 30 virus-related deaths reported yesterday, relating to the prior 48 hours.
There was no Government statement on Covid numbers on Good Friday.
New Zealand moved to the less restrictive orange traffic light pandemic response setting at 11.59pm on Wednesday in time for the Easter holidays.
As people enjoy the long weekend around the country, there are no indoor or outdoor capacity limits. Seated rules have also been removed.
However, masks are still required at some gatherings and events, close-proximity businesses such as hairdressers and retail stores. The seven-day isolation requirement for positive cases remains.
Health officials have previously warned if people catch Covid while they are on the road, they may need to self-isolate wherever they test positive or become a household contact.
"There may be extra costs involved in paying for additional accommodation and changing your travel plans," the ministry said.
If a case had used their own vehicle to travel, they could go back to their home to isolate but needed to take public health measures to ensure they didn't infect anyone on their way home.
This included maintaining social distance and using self-service petrol stations, the ministry said.
However, if a person had used public transport or travelled between islands, they would not be able to isolate at home.
It was important people had a plan and the ability to isolate where they were holidaying, if they needed to, the ministry said.
