Wellington, Feb 26 (TIWN) New Zealand reported 13,606 new community cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

Among the new community infections, 9,262 were in the largest city Auckland.  In addition, there were six new cases of Covid detected at the New Zealand border, said the Ministry.  There were 263 Covid patients in New Zealand hospitals, with five people being treated in intensive care units (ICU) or high dependency units (HDU). 

The ministry urged all New Zealanders to get their booster vaccine as soon as possible to reduce the chance of severe illness and hospitalisation. 

New Zealand reported a total of 70,652 confirmed cases of Covid since the beginning of the pandemic.  The country is currently at the highest Red settings under the Covid Protection Framework. At Red settings, face masks become mandatory in many indoor environments and gatherings are limited to 100 people.