The Ministry of Health is reporting the death of 20 more people with Covid-19 today, which takes the total to 254 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths to 13.

One of the people who died was from Northland, six from the Auckland region, five from Waikato, one from Bay of Plenty, one from Tairāwhiti, one from Hawke’s Bay, two from Mid Central, one from the Wellington region, and one from Nelson Marlborough.

One was in their 40s, one was in their 50s, three people were in their 60s, five people were in their 70s, six people were in their 80s, and three were in their 90s.

Twelve were men and seven were women.

There are 841 people in hospital with Covid-19 today, 27 of whom are in ICU.

Hospitalisations have dropped for the fourth day in a row, which the Ministry of Health said was “encouraging to see”. The overall decrease is driven by a decrease in hospitalisations across Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty, some of the first regions to be affected by omicron, said the ministry, which added that every hospitalisation is a reminder of the importance of being fully vaccinated, including with the booster dose.

There are 14,175 new cases in the community. Cases continue to drop in Auckland, with 2,652 today, while Canterbury had almost as many at 2,402.