NZ reports 55 new cases of Covid-19 Delta variant

New Zealand reported 55 new Delta variant cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections in the country's community outbreak to 1,719.
Fifty-three of the new infections were recorded in the largest city Auckland and two cases were in nearby Waikato, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told a press conference, Xinhua news agancy reported.

Thirty-two community cases are being treated in hospitals, including six in intensive care units (ICUs) or high dependency units (HDUs), Bloomfield said.

There are 1,612 cases that have been clearly epidemiologically linked to another case or a sub-cluster, and a further 75 cases for which links are yet to be fully established, he said.

The total number of confirmed cases in New Zealand since the start of the pandemic stands at 4,400, according to the health ministry - IANS