The Ministry of Health has finally come back from its lunch break and published today’s Covid-19 numbers – revealing a slight bump in hospitalisations.
There are now 773 people being treated with Covid-19, including 14 in intensive care. “The increase in cases and hospitalisations emphasises the importance of everybody doing the basics well to help prevent infection and serious illness,” said the ministry. “In particular, people should stay home if they are unwell, take a rapid antigen test (RAT) and upload the result on My Covid Record, and isolate if positive or while still symptomatic.”
Another 10,470 community infections have been reported, with the rolling average of new cases edging closer to 10,000 as well – it’s sitting at 9,994 now.
A further 16 people with Covid-19 have died, bringing the total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 to 1,776 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths to 16.
All of the latest deaths, which occurred over the past 11 days, were people over 60.
Once again, the ministry has reiterated its advice for dealing with the winter surge in Covid cases. “Wearing a mask remains one of the best measures to reduce transmission of infectious respiratory illnesses, including Covid-19,” the ministry said.
“The more layers of protection people put in place – such as mask wearing, vaccinations, and staying home when sick – the more they reduce the risk of spreading respiratory viruses.”