New Zealand reports 19,566 new COVID-19 community cases

WELLINGTON – New Zealand reported 19,566 new community cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

The ministry also reported 10 deaths, bringing the total number of publicly reported deaths to 151, and 25 new cases were detected at the country’s border.

Among the infections reported on Thursday, 4,867 cases were in the biggest city Auckland, said the ministry, adding the pandemic continues to spread across New Zealand, such as the capital city Wellington and the largest city in South Island Christchurch.

There were 930 COVID-19 patients in New Zealand hospitals, including 23 people in intensive care units or high dependency units.

Read more: New Zealand reports 19,542 new COVID-19 community cases

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.