New Zealand has reported 55 new locally acquired cases of Covid-19, the majority in the country's largest city of Auckland, up from 43 a day earlier, Reuters reports.
New Zealand had been largely virus-free, excluding a small cluster of cases in February, until a Delta outbreak in mid-August forced officials to impose a lockdown in Auckland.
Officials are looking to end strict lockdown measures once 90 per cent of the country's population over 12 is fully vaccinated. Some 2.49 million, or 59pc, have had two doses so far.
