A woman has died of Covid-19 in Auckland - the 27th Kiwi to die after becoming ill with the virus.
It comes as health officials report 20 community cases of Covid-19 today, all in Auckland.
The woman died in North Shore Hospital overnight and was in her 90s. The Ministry of Health said she had a number of underlying conditions. She is the first person to die in New Zealand since the Delta variant hit these shores.
The last Covid death in New Zealand was in February this year. That person also died in North Shore Hospital. The previous Covid death before that was in September last year, as part of the long tail of the Auckland cluster last August.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expressed her condolences to the family and loved ones of the woman who died overnight.
"Every death is a reminder of the damage Covid-19 can cause when it gets into our community," she said.
The woman had underlying health conditions which meant it was not clinically appropriate for her to receive ventilator or ICU care.
However, her whānau had been regularly updated and were able to speak with her over the phone.
She was a household contact of a case and was confirmed as a case before being admitted to hospital on August 28 from home. She was a household contact of a case and had been confirmed as a case before admission to hospital.
Director-general of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said: “On behalf of New Zealanders, I want to recognise this family’s loss.
“This is a time for us all to offer our deep sympathy, while also respecting the family’s privacy.”
Covid cases
There are 43 cases in hospital - 10 in North Shore, 18 in Middlemore and 15 in Auckland. Seven of these patients are in ICU.
There were 5322 Covid tests conducted in Auckland over the past 24 hours, and 11,037 across the country.
There have now been 3,772,754 doses of the vaccine administered to date, with 1,290,630 having received their second dose.
86,544 doses of the vaccine were administered yesterday.
