There are 6984 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today.

The Ministry of Health has reported a further 8 Covid-related deaths.

There are 417 people in hospital with the virus, including 7 in intensive care.

The Ministry of Health today warned traditional winter illnesses were circulating in the community along with Covid. This was putting significant pressure on all parts of the health system.

Today's deaths included one person in their 50s, two in their 70s, three were in their 80s and two aged over 90.

One person was from Waikato, three were from the Wellington region, one was from Canterbury, one was from South Canterbury and two were from Southern region.

All deaths occurred in the past week.

The seven-day rolling average of community cases today is 6,422.

The spread across New Zealand of those in hospital is: Northland, 3; Waitematā, 88; Counties Manukau, 40; Auckland, 55; Waikato, 32; Bay of Plenty, 10; Lakes, 20; Hawke's Bay. 14; Taranaki. 11; Whanganui. 3; MidCentral, 12; Wairarapa, 9; Hutt Valley. 11; Capital and Coast. 30; Nelson Marlborough. 9; Canterbury. 41; South Canterbury, 3 and Southern, 26.

The ministry said there were 211 people that returned positive Covid results who had recently traveled overseas.

There are currently 44,943 active cases in New Zealand.

The ministry said health services had been planning for a challenging winter and working regionally to manage capacity and demand, prioritising urgent care and deliver as much planned care as possible.

"It helps our health services if everyone does their bit to help us get through winter. The best thing New Zealanders can do to ensure they and their families don't end up in hospital is to be up-to-date with their flu and Covid19 vaccinations and boosters," said the ministry.

"We want to remind people to keep up good public health habits; wear a mask; physically distance; practise good hand hygiene; and don't go out if you are unwell but get tested and self-report the result – whether positive or negative – on My Covid Record. This helps us to understand the spread of Covid-19 and where to direct our public health resources."

We also urge whānau to develop a winter plan so family members know what to do if they become unwell. And to get a Winter Wellness Kit together which might include painkillers, a thermometer, tissues, cold and flu medications, enough food and household items for a few days, and a good stock of the regular medicines you or your whanau will need.

The Ministry would like to acknowledge the hard work of health workers across the motu, particularly at this time of significant strain on the system. The work you do is important and valued.

We urge all New Zealanders, if they do face delays in accessing health services, to be patient and kind to their local health workers. Often delays are due to health professionals treating someone more seriously ill first.

Yesterday's numbers

Yesterday, there were 7423 new cases of Covid in the community and a further 19 deaths were reported.

There were 411 people in hospital with the virus, including six in intensive care.

Health Minister Ayesha Verrall gave an update yesterday on the traffic light settings and announced additional measures.

"Moving back to red is unnecessary at the moment. We can continue to manage the virus at orange, but are putting in place a range of additional measures to help manage a recent rise in cases," Verrall said.

With hospitals under pressure from flu and Covid and numbers starting to creep up again, a suite of additional measures were being put in place to help reduce spread, she said.

Fifty child-sized masks would be made available to every Year 4-7 pupil in New Zealand.

An additional 20,000-30,000 masks a week would be provided to all other students and school staff. Extra funding would be made available to schools and early childhood services to support better ventilation over the winter months.

The Government has also made changes to reinfection advice. Anyone who experienced symptoms 29 days or longer after a previous infection must test and isolate if they return a positive result.

"This is a change from earlier advice which was that people would not need to retest if they had tested positive for Covid-19 within the past 90 days and is based on the latest international evidence and the need to isolate quickly people with reinfections.

"However, household contacts who have had Covid-19 within 90 days won't need to isolate, unless they are symptomatic. There is clear updated advice on what they should do to reduce risks to themselves and others. "

Verrall said while reinfections were low at the moment they were likely to increase.

Meanwhile, Acting Prime Minister Grant Robertson has tested positive for Covid-19.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister - who is steering the country during Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's trip to Europe - revealed his infection in a post on Instagram yesterday.

"I guess it had to happen eventually! Fairly mild symptoms, but will try to do right thing and get some rest," he said.

"Still Acting PM while I am compos mentis (some would say that is questionable at best of times!) but grateful to colleagues for stepping in for House and meetings today," he posted this morning.