(Reuters) – New Zealand reported 65 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19, with all in locked-down Auckland, as the country readies for a mass immunisation drive on Saturday when it hopes to administer a record 100,000 vaccine doses.
Auckland, the country’s largest city, entered into a lockdown in mid-August to stamp out an outbreak of the Delta variant, with officials looking to end the strict restrictions when full vaccination rates reach 90%.
About 2.6 million New Zealanders have so far been fully vaccinated, or about 62% of the eligible population.
New Zealand, which had stayed largely virus-free for most of the pandemic until a Delta outbreak in mid-August, is now looking to live with COVID-19 through higher inoculations. It reported 71 cases on Thursday, the biggest rise in six weeks.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Sandra Maler)
