A person in their 30s who died last week is New Zealand’s youngest confirmed Covid-related death to date.

A Ministry of Health (MoH) spokesman said in a statement that the patient died at Auckland City Hospital last week.

They were in their late 30s.

The ministry would not provide further information about the patient, such as their gender or vaccination status, out of “respect for the family”, the statement said.

The death has been referred to the coroner.

The case was one of two Covid-19 deaths announced on Friday.

Epidemiologist Michael Baker said the case was a reminder that “this virus can have severe consequences on people of any age”.

Baker said it was sad for the family and, without making assumptions about the person’s vaccination status, the case was an “important reminder of why vaccinations are so important”.

A total of 47 people with Covid-19 have died in New Zealand since the beginning of the pandemic.

The highest number of deaths have been in the 80-89 age bracket, accounting for 24 per cent of all Covid-19 deaths in New Zealand.

The ages of 11 per cent of all Covid-19 deaths in New Zealand is unknown, as the ministry has not provided details.