The Ministry of Health has reported another Covid-related death and 936 new cases in Canterbury today.
There are 5285 new community cases in New Zealand today - including 74 in South Canterbury - and a further 12 deaths have been reported.
The ministry also said today 31 previously reported deaths have been re-classified as unrelated to Covid-19.
"These deaths occurred more than 28 days after these people were reported as Covid-19 cases and were initially thought to be Covid-19 related, however, their formal cause of death classification has been deemed as unrelated to Covid-19," the ministry said.
The total number of publicly reported deaths of people with Covid has now been revised to 1431, with a seven-day rolling average of 12.
Of today's 12 reported deaths, four were from Northland, one was from the Auckland region, one was from Bay of Plenty, two were from Taranaki, one was from MidCentral, one was from the Wellington region, one was from Canterbury, and one was from Southern. Two people were in their 50s, seven were in their 80s and three were aged over 90. Seven were male and five were female.
There are 300 people in hospital with the virus, including five in intensive care, 36 in Canterbury DHB hospitals and three in South Canterbury hospitals.
The other cases in hospital are in Northland: 9; Waitematā: 44; Counties Manukau: 30; Auckland: 51; Waikato: 21; Bay of Plenty: 8; Lakes: 2; Tairāwhiti: 2; Hawke’s Bay: 5; Taranaki: 11; Whanganui: 2; MidCentral: 22; Wairarapa: 1; Hutt Valley: 12; Capital and Coast: 17; Nelson Marlborough: 5; West Coast: 0; and Southern: 19.
The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers is 4817, while last Thursday it was 5451.
Today's new community cases were reported in Northland (143), Auckland (1,596), Waikato (298), Bay of Plenty (175), Lakes (63), Hawke’s Bay (142), MidCentral (148), Whanganui (57), Taranaki (158), Tairāwhiti (37), Wairarapa (45), Capital and Coast (512), Hutt Valley (225), Nelson Marlborough (199), Canterbury (936), South Canterbury (74), Southern (426), West Coast (48). The locations of three cases are unknown.
There were 106 new imported cases today, the ministry said. The number of active community cases in New Zealand is now 33,699.
Impact of severe acute respiratory infection
The ministry said the rate of hospitalisations due to severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) have been increasing over the last six weeks and are higher than previous years for this time of year.
Approximately nine people per 100,000 are being hospitalised with SARI, the ministry said in a statement.
"Influenza is the most commonly detected virus in the week ending 19 June. The Ministry of Health would like to remind people who haven't yet had their flu vaccine this year to get vaccinated as soon as they can."
Travel warning for holidaymakers
The ministry said Kiwis need to have plans in place if they are going away over the Matariki long weekend in the event they contract Covid-19 or are identified as a household contact.
"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.
Those who used their own vehicle to travel to their destination and travel back home to isolate, adhering to health measures.
"However, if you have used public transport or travelled between islands, you won't be able to travel to isolate at your home. So it is important you have a plan and the ability to isolate where you are holidaying if you need to do so."
There will be no Covid update from the ministry tomorrow. The usual 1pm update will return from Saturday, and Saturday's update will include Friday's figures.
