(Reuters) – New Zealand on Wednesday 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.
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% of the country’s population over 12 is fully vaccinated. Some 2.49 million, or 59%, have had two doses so far.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
