There are 13,606 new community cases of Covid-19 today. 

There are also five people in intensive care units and 263 people in hospital, the Ministry of Health says. 

Daily numbers are rapidly escalating now rapid antigen tests (RATs) are revealing greater transmission in the community. 

There was a record 12,011 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand yesterday, with 3807 detected via PCR tests and 8223 identified using RATs. 

In Auckland alone, 7702 cases there were reported. 

New Zealand's positivity rate - the percentage of tests that are positive - is now 27.4 per cent, which had increased from 10.9 per cent 24 hours earlier. 

Yesterday also brought New Zealand's highest death toll, with five people losing their lives while having Covid-19. 

Two of the people who died were being cared for on Auckland's North Shore, two were in Waikato and one in Tauranga. 

The deaths take New Zealand's tally since the pandemic began to 61. The previous highest was four deaths on April 14, 2020. 

There were 237 people in hospital, with an average age of 52. Those people were in hospitals in Northland, North Shore, Middlemore, Auckland, Tauranga, Hawke's Bay, Capital and Coast, Hutt Valley, Canterbury and Southern hospitals. 

The locations of Covid-19 cases detected via PCR tests are: Northland (46), Auckland (1565), Waikato (388), Bay of Plenty (279), Lakes (23), Hawke's Bay (54), MidCentral (112), Whanganui (13), Taranaki (37), Tairāwhiti (34), Wairarapa (10), Capital and Coast (182), Hutt Valley (85), Nelson Marlborough (79), Canterbury (355), South Canterbury (13), Southern (524) and the West Coast (6). 

The location of one PCR result is unknown. 

The locations of cases found using RATs are: Northland (87), Auckland (6403), Waikato (544), Bay of Plenty (338), Lakes (140), Hawke's Bay (40), MidCentral (41), Whanganui (5), Taranaki (11), Tairāwhiti (18), Wairarapa (4), Capital and Coast (77), Hutt Valley (20), Nelson Marlborough (23), Canterbury (114), South Canterbury (5), Southern (343) and the West Coast (3). 

The location of seven cases identified via RATs is not yet known. 

There were 19 cases detected at the border. 

It meant there were 39,413 active Covid-19 community cases in New Zealand. 

There were 25,461 booster doses administered yesterday. About 68.8 per cent of the eligible population has been boosted. 

A Ministry of Health spokesman said the increase in Covid-19 cases was not unexpected. 

"These case numbers and hospitalisations are another reminder that vaccination is our best defence against the virus. 

"The further increase in cases today is not unexpected given the ongoing spread of Omicron and wider testing achieved from the combined use of rapid antigen tests (RATs) and PCR." 

In the past 24 hours, 30,979 PCR tests were processed. The seven-day rolling average for PCR testing is 28,795. 

There are 6.9 million rapid antigen tests in the country, the ministry says. 

New Zealand has moved to phase 3 of the Omicron response, which was intended to focus health resources on those needing it most. 

It was very important to the overall response that people self-report positive results for RATs through My Covid Record so heath officials could understand the size of the outbreak, the ministry said in a statement. 

"We'd like to thank the thousands of people who have been tested and already self-reported positive RAT results." 

While there are still significant global supply constraints, the ministry said enough RATs had been secured to help New Zealand through a widespread Omicron outbreak in the coming months. 

"Over the past two days, 5.2 million RATs arrived in the country. Another 10 million will arrive over the weekend, bringing our total supply to more than 22 million by Monday." 

Tests were being shipped to community testing centres, GPs and pharmacies across New Zealand. 

Critical services and businesses who needed them as part of the Close Contact Exemption Scheme could also access them. 

People who used a RAT would get their result within 20 minutes, which would help identify cases sooner, reduce testing wait times, minimise disruption to business and ensure critical services and infrastructure workforce could continue operating. 

There was growing evidence that three doses of Pfizer was protective against Omicron and the ministry strongly encouraged those due for their booster to get it. 

Meanwhile, anyone with cold or flu symptoms that could be Covid-19 should get tested and isolate at home until they get a negative result and are feeling well. 

"Regardless of your test result, it is still important that anyone who is unwell stays home to reduce the spread of other viruses." 

The most common early symptom of Omicron was a cough, followed by a sore throat and/or runny nose. 

If people needed advice on managing your symptoms, or whether you should seek care, Healthline was their first port of call (0800 358 5453).