COVID-19: Twenty-nine deaths, 729 people in hospital, 11,464 new community cases

There are 11,464 new community cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand on Wednesday, the Ministry of Health has revealed.

Another 29 COVID-19 deaths were reported, taking New Zealand's virus death toll to 1737.  

The Health Ministry said 729 people remained in hospital with the virus, 18 of whom were in intensive care.

"The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers today is 9,710," the Health Ministry said in a statement. 

"The increase in cases and hospitalisations emphasises the importance of everybody doing the basics well to help prevent infection and serious illness. In particular, people should stay home if they are unwell, take a rapid antigen test (RAT) and upload the result on MyCovidRecord, and isolate if positive or while still symptomatic."

Overall, New Zealand has reported over 1.4 million COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.

Here is the full Ministry of Health COVID-19 update for Wednesday, July 13:

Today we are reporting 11,464 community cases, 729 current hospitalisations, and 29 deaths.

The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers today is 9,710

Today we are sadly reporting the deaths of 29 people with COVID-19. All these deaths occurred in the past five days.

The Ministry of Health and Te Whatu Ora – Health NZ are closely monitoring the continued increase in Covid-19 positive cases and hospitalisations as part of our ongoing review and updating of the response to the current community outbreak.

The increase in cases and hospitalisations emphasises the importance of everybody doing the basics well to help prevent infection and serious illness. In particular, people should stay home if they are unwell, take a rapid antigen test (RAT) and upload the result on MyCovidRecord, and isolate if positive or while still symptomatic. 

It is important to ensure to you are up to date with all vaccinations, including COVID-19 vaccinations. Many are now eligible for a second booster dose, and flu vaccinations, which are free for many people.

Mask up to add another layer of protection

Wearing a mask remains one of our best measures to reduce transmission against infectious respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19.

The more layers of protection we put in place - such as mask wearing, vaccinations, and staying home when sick - the more we reduce the risk of spreading respiratory viruses.

Even if you’re fully vaccinated, or have had Covid-19, continuing to wear a face mask is important in keeping you, your whanau and your community safe.

As a general rule, we urge people to wear a mask in public indoor settings outside the home and in poorly ventilated spaces, or when it is hard to physically distance from other people.

You must wear a mask on public transport and at transport hubs like airports and bus stations, inside public venues like museums and libraries, when visiting a health care service, and inside retail businesses like supermarkets and shopping malls.

Masking up is particularly important when around more vulnerable members of the community, especially those who are older, those in aged residential care and healthcare settings where appropriate.

Wearing a mask also helps protect our healthcare and aged residential care staff, reducing their chances of becoming unwell and supporting them to continue to provide care to those that need it.

There are many tips to help reduce your chance of serious illness this winter. See the information in the links below.

• View a video of these tips on the Ministry’s Facebook page
• Guidance if you or someone you know tests positive or becomes a household contact
• Information on mask use at Orange
• Getting a flu jab

COVID-19 hospitalisations

• COVID-19 Cases in hospital: total number 729: Northland: 14; Waitematā: 145; Counties Manukau: 49; Auckland: 93; Waikato: 56; Bay of Plenty: 49; Lakes: 13; Hawke’s Bay: 25; MidCentral: 25; Whanganui: 13; Taranaki: 16; Tairawhiti: 4; Wairarapa: 10; Capital & Coast: 30; Hutt Valley: 29; Nelson Marlborough: 10; Canterbury: 90; West Coast: 1; South Canterbury: 14; Southern: 43.
• Weekly COVID-19 Hospitalisations - 7 day rolling average: 643 (This time last week 454)
• Average age of current COVID-19 hospitalisations: 63
• Cases in ICU or HDU: 18
• Vaccination status of new admissions to hospital*: Unvaccinated or not eligible (53 cases); double vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (79 cases); received booster at least 7 days before being reported as a case (370 cases).

*These are new hospital admissions in the past 7 days prior to yesterday who had COVID at the time of admission or while in hospital, excluding hospitalisations that were admitted and discharged within 24hrs. This data is from Districts with tertiary hospitals: Auckland, Canterbury, Southern, Counties Manukau, Waikato, Capital & Coast, Waitemata and Northland.

COVID-19 vaccinations administered

Vaccinations administered in New Zealand  

• Vaccines administered to date: 4,028,821 first doses; 3,981,424 second doses; 33,489 third primary doses; 2,690,592 first booster doses: 120,651 second booster doses: 264,827 paediatric first doses and 138,247 paediatric second doses  
• Vaccines administered yesterday: 49 first doses; 47 second doses; 67 third primary doses; 964 first booster doses; 13,065 second booster doses; 63 paediatric first doses and 446 paediatric second doses  
• More detailed information, including vaccine uptake by District, is available on the Ministry website.

Tests

• Number of PCR tests total (last 24 hours): 3,887
• Number of Rapid Antigen Tests reported total (last 24 hours): 18,292
• PCR tests rolling average (last 7 days): 3,299
• Number of Rapid Antigen Tests dispatched (last seven days as of 12 July 2022): 2.4 million

COVID-19 cases

• Total number of new community cases: 11,464
• Covid re-infection in community cases 469, of which 168 were cases between 29 and 90 days of a previous infection
• Number of new cases that have recently travelled overseas: 355
• Seven day rolling average of community cases: 9,710
• Seven day rolling average of community cases (as at same day last week): 7,591
• Number of active cases (total): 67,926 (cases identified in the past seven days and not yet classified as recovered)
• Confirmed cases (total): 1,452,748
• Location of new community cases by district over past 24 hours

Please note, the Ministry of Health’s daily reported cases may differ slightly from those reported at a District or local public health unit level. This is because of different reporting cut off times and the assignment of cases between regions, for example when a case is tested outside their usual region of residence. Total numbers will always be the formal daily case tally as reported to the WHO.

COVID-19 deaths

Today’s reported deaths take the total number of publicly reported deaths with COVID-19 to 1,737 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 19.

Of the people whose deaths we are reporting today: seven were from the Auckland region, one was from Waikato, two were from Bay of Plenty, one was from Tairawhiti, two were from Taranaki, one was from Hawkes Bay, one was from MidCentral, two were from the Wellington region, two were from Canterbury, two were from South Canterbury, and eight were from Southern.

One was in their 50s, one was in their 60s, seven were in their 70s, ten were in their 80s and ten were aged over 90. Of these people, 15 were women and 14 were men.

This is a very sad time for whānau and friends and our thoughts and condolences are with them. Out of respect, we will be making no further comment on today’s reported deaths.