Saturday May 21

There are 6,635 new cases of Covid-19 today.

Of these, 194 are in Northland, 2,222 are in Auckland, 527 in Waikato, 205 in Bay of Plenty, 121 in the Lakes district, 255 in Hawke's Bay, 190 in MidCentral, 94 in Whanganui, 172 in Taranaki, 57 in Tairāwhiti, 67 in Wairarapa, 466 in Capital and Coast, 177 in Hutt Valley, 206 in Nelson Marlborough, 985 in Canterbury, 106 in South Canterbury, 519 in the Southern district, 67 in the West Coast and 5 in unknown locations.

The total number of active cases is 56,335.

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

Today's seven-day rolling average is 7,972. Last Saturday it was 7,595.

The total number of confirmed cases to date is 1,089,626.

Hospitalisations and Covid-19 related deaths

6 people with Covid-19 have died. This brings the publicly reported total to date to 1,045. 

Of the people whose deaths we are reporting today, two from Auckland, one from Northland, one from Taranaki, one from Cantebury, and one from the Souther region.

One person was in their 60s, two were in their 70s, two in their 80s, and one was over 90.

4 were male and 2 were female.

There are 400 people in hospital, with 12 of those people in intensive care or high dependency units.

The average age of people currently in hospital is 61.

Testing

4,064 PCR tests and 13,079 rapid antigen tests (RATs) have been taken in the past 24 hours.

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.

70.7 percent of the eligible population have had a booster shot.

Top image: A used mask on the ground. (File Image)Photo: Michael Madden-Smith/Re:

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