Record Number of New Corona Infections in New Zealand

New Zealand has registered a record number of new Covid-19 cases, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced. On Tuesday, there were 94 new infections, five more than the previous record set in the first outbreak in April 2020.

“I know the highs and lows of the case count are incredibly hard on people,” Ardern said. “But it’s important to remember that we are not powerless; we have the ability to keep the number of infections as low as possible.”

Auckland, the largest city in the country with roughly 1.7 million inhabitants, is under strict lockdown after a corona infection was diagnosed on August 18. Since then, the number of cases during the outbreak has grown to 2099. On Tuesday, there were 87 destinations in Auckland and seven in the neighbouring region of Waikato.

The prime minister urged her compatriots to stay at home and get vaccinated. “The rules matter to everyone,” Ardern said. About 85 percent of the population has received the first shot, and 67 percent have been fully vaccinated. The country of five million has reported about 4,700 infections and 28 corona deaths since the start of the pandemic.