AUCKLAND, Oct 15 ― 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 tomorrow 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 per cent.

About 2.6 million New Zealanders have so far been fully vaccinated, or about 62 per cent 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. ― Reuters