New Zealand has recorded its highest daily coronavirus case numbers since the pandemic started as the Omicron variant drives community transmission, leading US authorities to warn Americans against travelling to the country.
Authorities reported 23,894 new COVID cases in New Zealand on Tuesday, with 9,881 of those in Auckland, the country's largest city.
It was an increase from daily cases reported from Saturday to Monday, which were below 20,000.
Authorities reported 757 people were in hospital with the coronavirus, with 16 patients in ICU or high dependency care.
"Even early in the Omicron outbreak, the figures show that, based on the data available, unvaccinated people are significantly over-represented in the current hospitalisation data," said a statement from the Ministry of Health.
Only 3 per cent of New Zealanders aged over 12 had received no doses of a COVID vaccine, but those who were unvaccinated accounted for 19.4 per cent of people in hospital with coronavirus in Auckland and Northland hospitals, it said.
Dr Caroline McElnay, NZ Director of Public Health, said at a press conference that "occupancy levels remain manageable" despite pressure on hospital staffing.
Dr McElnay, who appeared via video link as she was suffering COVID-like symptoms, said that true numbers of cases were likely higher than those reported.
"We haven't had our peak yet," NZ COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said, as quoted by the New Zealand Herald.
"We've been working with Auckland hospitals, they've said pressure has eased. But we're looking how to help."
US elevates travel risk for NZ to 'very high'
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), meanwhile, urged Americans to avoid travel to New Zealand, Hong Kong and Thailand over COVID-19 cases.
The CDC elevated its travel recommendation to "Level Four: Very High" for the three destinations.
In total, the CDC urges Americans to avoid travel to about 135 countries and territories.
Australia's travel advice to NZ is to "exercise a high degree of caution" due to COVID-19.
"Wear a face covering wherever you go," the Smartraveller website advises.
A one-time poster child for tackling the coronavirus, New Zealand's swift response to the pandemic and its geographic isolation kept the country largely COVID-19 free until the end of last year, winning Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern strong support.
Total deaths stand at just 65.
However, anger over vaccine mandates for people working in sectors such as health and education and strict border closures have put pressure on the government to now soften its stance in line with much of the rest of the world, even as cases surge.
"Psychologically it's quite a big shock because to date the pandemic has been largely something that's happened to other people," Michael Baker, Professor of Public Health at the University of Otago, told Bloomberg.
"Until recently, the only people I knew who got infected with the virus lived overseas."
Last month, Ms Ardern announced the phased easing of border restrictions, and said the government was considering fully reopening the borders to tourists sooner than the current scheduled date of July for Australians and October for those from elsewhere in the world.
The Ministry of Health warned this week that: "Omicron is still spreading in our communities.
"We all need to continue to wear a mask, physical distance, and get tested where required to reduce the spread of the virus."
ABC/wires
