New Zealand reports 33 new Delta variant cases

Wellington, Sep 13 (IANS) New Zealand reported 33 new cases of the Covid-19 Delta variant on Monday, all in the largest city of Auckland, which brought the total number of cases in the country's community outbreak to 955.

Of the current community cases, 21 cases are in hospital, including four cases in intensive care units (ICUs) or high dependency units (HDUs), according to the Ministry of Health.

Auckland has registered 938 community cases with 17 reported in the capital Wellington, reports Xinhua news agency.

There are 928 cases that have been clearly epidemiologically-linked to another case or sub-cluster.

New Zealand also reported three new cases in recent returnees.

These cases came from India, and Serbia and Montenegro, and have remained in managed isolation and quarantine facilities in Auckland and Christchurch, the statement said.

The total number of confirmed cases in New Zealand since the start of the pandemic is 3,949, with 27 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

Areas outside Auckland moved to Alert Level 2 from 11.59 p.m. on Tuesday, which means businesses and schools are back to normal, with masks mandatory in certain settings and gatherings limited to 50 people in size.

Auckland currently remains at Level 4, the top level Covid-19 lockdown.

The government will announce its alert level decisions later on Monday.