There are 9256 new community cases of Covid-19 today.

There are 822 people in hospital with the virus, including 24 in intensive care.

Yesterday there were 6910 new cases in the community and a further 16 deaths were reported.

There were 836 people in hospital with the virus, including 27 in ICU - an increase of more than 100 compared to Monday's 720 and up by more than 50 per cent compared to 322 on June 26.

The seven-day rolling average was 8498, down by over 1000 compared to last Monday.

Despite a decrease in daily case numbers, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern this morning cautioned against reducing the current Covid-19 isolation period, particularly during winter, saying it could increase case numbers.

Ardern said the next check-in about Covid-19 settings would be in "early August", but played down any speculation current settings could be relaxed.

Schools call for Govt help

Schools are also coming under pressure as they face staff shortages and learning disruptions.

RNZ reported a group of 10 leaders from regional principals' associations are calling for help from the Government, saying schools were at or near breaking point because of the stress of ongoing staff and student absences.

In a letter, they implored the Government to reveal as soon as possible how it would help teens pass NCEA this year.

"The disruption to learning during this calendar school year is at levels we have never experienced before. Although affecting all students, these disruptions have disproportionately impacted our most vulnerable learners," the letter said.

"Kura are increasingly unable to deliver teaching and learning programmes or engage in agreed change processes in the face of unprecedented staff and student absences, recruitment and retention issues and surging costs [relief in particular]."

Southern wastewater results

Meanwhile, wastewater tests suggest the South has passed the peak of the current Omicron wave of Covid-19, but also confirms that cases in Otago and Southland remain substantially under-reported.

Data from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research shows that the amount of Covid-19 virus shed into the wastewater system has been steadily dropping at almost every testing site in the South.

Bluff, where viral loads are rising, and Queenstown, where they have remained static, were the exceptions among the 11 locations tracked by ESR.

However, one constant at all sites was that the amount of Covid-19 detected in the wastewater system was still tracking well above the actual number of cases being reported to the Ministry of Health - in sites such as Green Island, Mosgiel, Cromwell, Alexandra and Wanaka significantly so.