Omicron outbreak: 13 deaths, 11,217 new community cases yesterday

11,217 community cases and 13 deaths were reported yesterday evening after a technical hiccup delayed the release by nearly four hours.

Of those who died, one person is in their 40s, two are in their 50s, four are in their 60s, three are in their 80s and three in their 90s or older.

Just before 1pm, the Ministry of Health said a technical issue meant the Covid-19 case numbers would be delayed but hospitalisation figures would still be released at the usual time.

This takes the total number of deaths in New Zealand since the pandemic started to 615.

Of those who have passed away yesterday , five were female and eight were male.

"This is a very sad time for whānau and friends and our thoughts are with them," the ministry said.

Nelson-Marlborough, Auckland, Northland, Hawke's Bay, Waitemata, Mid-Central and Taranaki each recorded one death, while Hutt Valley, Whanganui and Canterbury reported two deaths.

The seven-day rolling average of case numbers continues to decline, with yesterday's seven-day rolling average at 7,834 – last Wednesday it was 9,288.

There are currently 547 people in hospital and 14 people in ICU.

The location of new community cases are: Northland (528), Waitemata (948), Auckland (762), Counties Manukau (793), Waikato (819), Bay of Plenty (482), Lakes (208), Hawke's Bay (365), MidCentral (456), Whanganui (186), Taranaki (354), Tairāwhiti (116), Wairarapa (98), Capital and Coast (698), Hutt Valley (359), Nelson Marlborough (341), Canterbury (1,855), South Canterbury (289), Southern (1,410), West Coast (142), Unknown (8).

The number of reported community cases is expected to continue to fluctuate day to day. However, the ministry said the overall trend remains an overall reduction in reported cases.