A Wellington Cable car shuttles on the rail in Wellington, New Zealand, Sept. 8, 2021. Areas outside Auckland moved to Alert Level 2 from 11:59 p.m. 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 will remain at Level 4 for at least another week. New Zealand moved to a lockdown on Aug. 17 after the first COVID-19 Delta variant case in the Auckland community was identified. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)
WELLINGTON, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand reported 21 new community cases of Delta variant of COVID-19 on Wednesday, all in the largest city Auckland, which brought the total number of confirmed cases in the country's community outbreak to 855.
Auckland has so far recorded 838 community cases and the capital Wellington has 17 cases, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told a press conference.
Of the total cases reported in the community outbreak, there are 830 cases found to be clearly epidemiologically linked to another case or sub-cluster, and 25 for which links are yet to be fully established, Bloomfield said.
Of the current community cases, 37 cases are being treated in hospitals, including six cases held in intensive care units (ICUs) or high dependency units (HDUs), he said.
New Zealand also reported one new coronavirus infection in recent returnees. The case came from the Philippines and has remained in a managed isolation at a quarantine facility in Rotorua, Bloomfield said.
The total number of confirmed cases in New Zealand since the start of the pandemic has risen to 3,473, according to the Ministry of Health.
Areas outside Auckland moved to Alert Level 2 from 11:59 p.m. 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 will remain at Level 4 for at least another week. New Zealand moved to a lockdown on Aug. 17 after the first COVID-19 Delta variant case in the Auckland community was identified. Enditem
A man wearing a face mask walks past the Christchurch Cathedral under maintenance in Christchurch, New Zealand, Sept. 8, 2021. Areas outside Auckland moved to Alert Level 2 from 11:59 p.m. 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 will remain at Level 4 for at least another week. New Zealand moved to a lockdown on Aug. 17 after the first COVID-19 Delta variant case in the Auckland community was identified. (Photo by Li Xiaogang/Xinhua)
