Canterbury has recorded 935 new community cases of Covid-19 today.
Across New Zealand, there are 6297 cases, including 83 in South Canterbury. The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers is now 6075, while last Friday it was 6850.
The Ministry of Health has not yet reported the number of people in hospital with the virus or the number of new deaths.
"Due to a technical issue, hospitalisation, death and testing numbers are currently unavailable. Today’s statement will be updated as soon as this information becomes available," the ministry said.
Today's new community cases were reported in Northland (154), Auckland (1,822), Waikato (468), Bay of Plenty (213), Lakes (98), Hawke’s Bay (168), MidCentral (273), Whanganui (82), Taranaki (178), Tairāwhiti (37), Wairarapa (53), Capital and Coast (623), Hutt Valley (298), Nelson Marlborough (252), Canterbury (935), South Canterbury (83), Southern (498), West Coast (57). The locations of five cases are unknown and 86 new imported cases have been reported.
This brings the total number of active community cases in New Zealand to 42,517.
Meanwhile, health staff are warning a surge of patients is putting unprecedented pressure on our hospital system, despite Covid numbers being well down on their peak.
They're saying hospitals are at a "level of panic" at the start of winter, with record delays and record patient numbers.
Covid is not the primary cause but is adding to the stress, which is made worse by respiratory illnesses hitting earlier in winter than usual.
Some of those contracting Covid are hospital staff, with large numbers calling in sick or isolating due to Covid exposure, among other causes.
Hospitals are delaying surgeries and are increasingly warning the situation is unsustainable, with extremely long waits at emergency departments.
Experts have warned this winter will be extremely difficult, as Kiwis lack immunity to viruses that are now circulating in the community.
Latest school Covid numbers published
The Ministry of Education has also released the latest Covid case numbers for schools.
The data is reported weekly based on schools' reports to the ministry.
In the seven days to Thursday, there were 7370 new cases reported by schools across New Zealand. Of those cases, 6205 were students, 830 were teachers and 335 were other staff.
A total 700 schools - or 28 per cent of all schools - reported at least one case over the seven days to Thursday.
Another 877 cases were reported by early learning centres, with 8 per cent of centres managing at least one new case in the past week. That included 553 students, 240 teachers and 84 other people.
Across New Zealand, 15 per cent of schools have at least one teacher or principal with Covid, as do 3 per cent of early learning centres.
-With NZ Herald
