New Zealand reports 18,423 new community cases of COVID-19

Xinhua

24th Mar, 2022. 12:09 pm
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WELLINGTON – New Zealand reported 18,423 new community cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

Among the new community infections, 3,629 were in the largest city Auckland. The rest of the cases were identified across the nation, including 3,150 in Canterbury, according to the ministry.

In addition, there were 44 new cases of COVID-19 detected at the New Zealand border, said the ministry.

There were 913 COVID-19 patients in New Zealand hospitals, including 28 people in intensive care unit or high dependency unit.

The ministry also reported 11 deaths from COVID-19, taking the total number of publicly reported deaths in the country to 221, it said.

New Zealand has reported 556,049 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.

New Zealand announced on Wednesday that it will remove most COVID-19 restrictions. From midnight this Friday, outdoor gathering limits will be lifted, and indoor gathering limits at the current highest Red settings of the COVID-19 Protection Framework will double from 100 to 200, but wearing mask will still be mandatory.