Friday May 13

There are 7,441 new cases of Covid-19 today and 29 people have died. 

Of these new community cases, 224 are in Northland, 2,503 are in Auckland, 531 in Waikato, 220 in Bay of Plenty, 105 in the Lakes district, 218 in Hawke's Bay, 240 in MidCentral, 56 in Whanganui, 202 in Taranaki, 61 in Tairāwhiti, 100 in Wairarapa, 457 in Capital and Coast, 182 in Hutt Valley, 252 in Nelson Marlborough, 1,110 in Canterbury, 154 in South Canterbury, 742 in the Southern district, 80 in the West Coast and 4 in unknown locations.

The total number of active cases is 52,826.

The Ministry of Health defines active cases as those identified in the last seven days and not yet classified as recovered.

Avoiding Covid-19 reinfection this winter

At a press conference on Friday, director-general of Health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, said officials were preparing for a potentially high resurgence of Covid-19 over winter. 

He also said about half of actual Covid-19 cases are being officially reported. 

This is likely due to people not having symptoms or having mild symptoms so they aren't testing. 

"Make sure you go into winter as prepared as possible," Bloomfield said.

"Our health system will have a heavy load of respiratory illnesses through winter," he said.

He encouraged people to get vaccinated - not only against Covid-19 but also against the flu.

Bloomfield also encouraged people to keep wearing masks and to stay home if they felt unwell.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health's deputy director of public health, Dr Harriette Carr, said current evidence shows the chance of having Covid-19 again within 90 days of a first infection is low but can occasionally happen. 

“People who become unwell with respiratory symptoms within 90 days following a Covid-19 infection but are low risk, should stay at home and recover until 24 hours after most symptoms clear up.

"We don’t advise routinely retesting at home within this period but if someone becomes increasingly unwell they should seek advice from their GP or Healthline.

"Those more at-risk people who become unwell again within 90 days of their initial illness should seek further advice from a health practitioner."

People who became unwell more than 90 days after being infected with Covid-19 were encouraged to follow the advice they had received when they first got infected. 

“Our advice to health practitioners when testing for reinfection is that it’s exceptionally unlikely if symptomatic less than 28 days after the original infection, while people who are symptomatic within 29 to 90 days after original infection could be tested with a supervised rapid antigen test," Carr said.

“It’s really important to take any respiratory illness seriously and take time to recover.

“We’re heading into the colder months – traditionally a time when there’s also more sickness in general in the population. New Zealanders are well versed in following public health guidance – now is not the time to give up on those."

Hospitalisations and Covid-19 related deaths

29 people with Covid-19 have died, bringing the total number of publicly reported Covid-related deaths to 940.

The deaths reported today include 14 people who have died in the previous two days and 15 people who died between March 24 and May 7.

The 7-day rolling average of reported deaths is 14. 

Of the people whose deaths we are reporting today, six were from Auckland, one from Waikato, one from Taranaki, one from Tairāwhiti, two from Hawke's Bay, two from the Bay of Plenty, one from Whanganui, four from the Greater Wellington region, one from Nelson Marlborough, six from Canterbury and four from the Southern area.

Two people were in their 20s, three in their thirties, three in their fifties, four in their sixties, six in their seventies, three in their eighties and eight over the age of 90.

Of these people, fourteen were women and fifteen were men.

There are 398 people in hospital, with 6 of those people in intensive care or high dependency units. 

The average age of people currently in hospital is 59.  

Testing

In the last 24 hours, the number of PCR tests administered were 4,026 and the number of Rapid Antigen Tests reported was 15,013.

If you take a RAT you must report the result, positive or negative. This can be done online through My Covid Record, or by calling 0800 222 478 between 8am and 8pm. 

Vaccinations

96.3 percent of New Zealand's eligible population have had the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and 95.2 percent have had a second dose.

Top image: A nurse in Auckland prepares the Covid-19 vaccine on November 30, 2021. Photo: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

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