There are 8435 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today.

The Ministry of Health reported a further 15 Covid-related deaths.

One of these people was aged in their 40s, two were in their 60s, one was in their 70s, three were in their 80s and eight were aged over 90. The deaths took place over the past four days.

There are 327 people in hospital with the virus, including 10 in intensive care.

The Ministry of Health said in a statement the seven-day rolling average of cases today is 7507while last Tuesday it was 7795.

Yesterday 6000 new cases were in the community and a further nine Covid-related deaths
were reported.

There were 363 people in hospital with the virus, including 14 in intensive care.

How to download your updated vaccine pass

An updated Covid-19 vaccine pass became available for Kiwis to download from today.

People who are up to date with their Covid vaccinations will be able to download the new-look My Vaccine Pass, which authorities are still encouraging, despite it no longer being a legal requirement.

People can request a pass for use in New Zealand and the International Travel Vaccination Certificate. Those wanting both will have to make separate requests.

The vaccine passes can be requested through My Covid Record or by calling 0800 28 29 26.

When you log in to My Covid Record website, scroll down and select "Request pass or certificate", you'll then be asked to select if you are requesting the pass for yourself or another and asked to confirm your details before entering in your email and confirming the request.

The website states that the process will take one to two minutes to complete and the pass or certificate would be emailed within 24 hours.

To receive the vaccine pass for use in New Zealand you have to be fully vaccinated or have an exemption.

To receive the international certificate you have to have had received at least one vaccination in New Zealand.

With the update comes a new colour - blue - and it will be available to anyone aged 12 years old and over who has had all their Covid shots. It includes booster vaccinations for those over the age of 18.

The new My Vaccine Pass will be valid for six months from the date of issue.

The Government announced this morning that New Zealand would remain at the orange traffic light setting - with a second wave of Omicron infections expected over winter among the reasons for caution.

New Zealand has been at the orange alert level since 11.59pm on April 13.

The next review of the settings will be late next month, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today.

"While daily cases numbers have flattened nationally, they are again beginning to increase in the northern region and hospitalisation rates have also increased slightly over the past month. In addition, our latest Covid-19 modelling indicates that under current conditions, there is a likelihood of a secondary wave of cases appearing."