Wellington [New Zealand ], December 19 (ANI/Xinhua): New Zealand detected five more Omicron cases in international arrivals, taking the country's total cases of the COVID-19 variant to 13, said the Ministry of Health in a statement on Sunday.

The country reported 63 COVID-19 cases on Sunday, including 55 community cases and eight imported cases, according to the ministry.

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Four of the Omicron cases remain in boarder managed isolation facilities. One has now recovered and been released.

Among the new community infections, 41 were recorded in the largest city of Auckland, seven in Taranaki, four in Waikato and three in the Bay of Plenty.

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The total number of COVID-19 cases in the current Delta variant outbreak in New Zealand community reached 10,220, mainly in Auckland and peripheral regions.

There were 56 COVID-19 patients in New Zealand hospitals including six cases in in intensive care units or high dependency units.

New Zealand recorded 13,425 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.

According to the ministry, 90 percent of eligible New Zealanders have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.Whole genome sequencing on all new border cases of COVID-19 is required in new precautionary measures against the Omicron variant. All passengers on flights with Omicron cases are being required to complete a 10-day quarantine at border facilities.

Under the country's COVID-19 Protection Framework or traffic lights framework, the largest city Auckland and part of the North Island are at red settings while the rest of the country is at orange settings. (ANI/ Xinhua)

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