New Zealand reports 97 new community cases of COVID-19

WELLINGTON – New Zealand reported 97 new community cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

Among the new community infections, 61 are in the largest city Auckland, 14 in Waikato, eight in Bay of Plenty, seven in the Lakes region, three in Hawke’s Bay, three in Tairawhiti, and one in Northland, according to the ministry.

In addition, 58 new cases of COVID-19 were detected at the New Zealand border.

New Zealand has 116 community cases of COVID-19 that have either been confirmed by whole-genome sequencing as the Omicron variant or have been linked to a previously reported Omicron case, said the ministry.

The ministry urged everyone in New Zealand to act like Omicron is circulating in their community.

Read more: New Zealand reports 105 new community cases of COVID-19, including 15 Omicron infections

There are seven COVID-19 patients in New Zealand hospitals, but no COVID-19 patient was at the ICU.

The country has recorded 15,770 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, including 11,811 cases from the current community outbreak.

New Zealand is currently at the highest Red settings under the COVID-19 Protection Framework. At Red settings, face masks become mandatory in many indoor environments, and gatherings are limited to 100 people.