New Zealand reports second-highest daily COVID-19 cases in pandemic

FILE PHOTO: A member of the public receives a Pfizer vaccine at a drive-through coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination clinic in Otara during a single-day vaccination drive, aimed at significantly increasing the percentage of vaccinated people in the country, in Auckland, New Zealand, October 16, 2021. REUTERS/Simon Watts

(Reuters) - New Zealand reported 109 new locally acquired coronavirus cases on Monday, the bulk of them in its largest city, Auckland, as the country saw its second-worst day of daily infections since the pandemic began.

Once the poster child for stamping out COVID-19, New Zealand has been unable to beat an outbreak of Delta variant of COVID-19 centred in Auckland, despite the city remaining under a strict lockdown for more than two months.