New Zealand hit by new infections

New Zealand reported 104 new coronavirus infections yesterday, including the first community case of the virus in the country’s South Island in nearly a year, officials said.

Most of the new infections were reported in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city that has been under a strict lockdown for more than two months. Looser restrictions are in place in most of the rest of the country of 5 million.

Once the poster child for stamping out Covid-19, New Zealand has been unable to beat an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant centred in Auckland.