There are now 305 people in hospital with Covid-19, an increase from 263 yesterday. Five people remain in ICU, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.
In addition, a patient with Covid-19 died in a Northland hospital yesterday from an unrelated medical condition, said the ministry.
Community cases continue to increase, with 14,941 new infections recorded today. Of them, 9,194 were confirmed by rapid antigen test (RAT) and 5,747 by PCR test. There are now 67,632 active cases in the community.
At the border, 41 cases were detected.
In the past 24 hours, 27,789 PCR tests were carried out, with a high positivity rate of 27.98%. The ministry hasn’t said how many RATs were carried out in the past 24 hours.
The epicentre of the outbreak remains in Auckland, with 9,046 new cases today. There are 225 in Northland, 1,519 in Waikato, 812 in Bay ofPlenty, 208 in Lakes, 136 in Hawke’s Bay, 142 in MidCentral, 19 in Whanganui, 100 in Taranaki, 69 in Tairāwhiti, 45 in Wairarapa, 516 in Capital and Coast, 373 in Hutt Valley, 158 in Nelson Marlborough, 981 in Canterbury, 44 in South Canterbury, 532 in Southern, nine in West Coast and five whose locations are unknown.
Most new cases under 30
The majority of recent Covid cases are under the age of 30, according to the ministry. “In the past fortnight, 59% have been under 30 years of age and 12% over the age of 50. The two age groups with the highest percentage of cases are people aged between 10-19 years of age and those aged between 20-29, which account for 25% and 25% of cases respectively.”
However, most people hospitalised with Covid-19 are older, with 54% of the 236 hospitalised in the northern region over 50, and 19% under 30. “This reflects similar trends seen overseas where younger people, who are more socially active, often have higher infection rates, though it is the older age groups which are most likely to require hospital treatment from Covid-19,” said the ministry.
Auckland, Southern, Waikato and Bay of Plenty have highest infection rates
The three Auckland DHBs continue to have with the highest rates of infection in the country (Auckland 1,843 cases per 100,000 population; Counties Manukau 2,596 per 100,000 population and Waitematā 1,179 per 100,000 population), said the ministry.
“Other areas with higher rates include Southern with 929 per 100,000; Waikato with 913 per 100,000 population and Bay of Plenty with 759 per 100,000 population.”
*This update has been changed from an earlier version to state that 59% of today’s cases are under 30. The Ministry of Health initially said 59% of cases from the past fortnight were under 30, but have now corrected that information.
