There are 5554 new cases of Covid-19 in the community, and there have been 11 further deaths reported today.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health said there were also 368 current hospitalisations, with seven in ICU or HDU.

Of the deaths being reported today, one person was from Northland, two were from the Auckland region, one from Waikato, one from Hawke's Bay, one from MidCentral, one from the Wellington region, two from Canterbury and two from Southern.

Two were in their 60s, five were in their 70s, one in their 80s and three were aged over 90.

That brings the total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 to 1359 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 13.

The new Covid-19 community cases being reported today were in Northland (138), Auckland (1,659), Waikato (372), Bay of Plenty (194), Lakes (76), Hawke's Bay (179), MidCentral (223), Whanganui (54), Taranaki (188), Tairāwhiti (46), Wairarapa (71), Capital and Coast (506), Hutt Valley (219), Nelson Marlborough (227), Canterbury (839), South Canterbury (76), Southern (442), West Coast (40) and the location of five was unknown.

There were also 70 new Covid-19 cases at the border.

The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers today is 5777 - last Wednesday it was 6035.

On preparing for winter, the ministry said they were working with regional colleagues to manage capacity and demand, prioritise urgent care and deliver as much planned care as possible.

"Covid-19 continues to circulate in the community and we have also started to see the impact of winter respiratory illnesses, like flu, which are putting additional pressure on our health system.

"We need everyone to do their bit to help us get through winter. We'd like to encourage everyone to get their flu vaccine this year, which can help protect against four different strains of the virus and reduce the need for hospitalisation.

"We also want to encourage everyone to get vaccinated against Covid-19; 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."

Yesterday, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said case rates were continuing to drop and while that was encouraging, the average was still about double of what was modelled.

And an independent review found the Ministry of Health did not equitably meet the needs of Māori, Pacific and other vulnerable populations during the Delta outbreak.