New Zealand reports 9,241 new community cases of Covid

Wellington, July 16 (IANS) New Zealand reported 9,241 new community cases of Covid on Saturday, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers of Covid in New Zealand now sits at 9,984. The ministry also reported 761 current hospitalisations, including 15 cases in ICU or HDU, and 29 deaths from Covid on Saturday.

In addition, there were 308 new cases that have recently travelled overseas, Xinhua news agency reported.

In combatting the recent surge of case numbers, the ministry has widened the access criteria of the three antiviral treatments for Covid to include a wider group of people at risk of severe illness from Covid infection.

The ministry emphasised the importance of people doing the basics well to help prevent infection and serious illness, urging New Zealanders to wear a mask in public indoor settings outside the home and in poorly ventilated spaces, or when it is hard to physically distance from other people.

New Zealand has reported 1,484,227 confirmed cases of Covid since the beginning of the pandemic.

New Zealand is currently under the orange settings of the COVID-19 Protection Framework, where there is no limit for gatherings.