Covid becomes equal leading cause of death in New Zealand for first time

Ambulances outside Auckland’s Middlemore hospital in July. In mid-July Covid became New Zealand’s leading cause of death Photograph: Phil Walter/Getty Images

Covid-19 became the equal leading cause of death in New Zealand for the first time in July, overtaking stroke and drawing even with ischaemic heart disease as the country’s No 1 killer.

Michael Baker, an epidemiologist and public health professor, said that for a period in July-August Covid appeared to be causing at least as many deaths as heart disease.