New Zealand reports first Covid death in over 6 months

Authorities reported 20 new community cases, all in the largest city of Auckland.

New Zealand reported its first coronavirus death in more than six months on Saturday, while the number of new cases continued to trend downward. Health authorities said the woman who died was in her 90s and had underlying health problems.

New Zealand remains in lockdown as it tries to eliminate an outbreak of the Delta variant that began last month. (Reuters)

Authorities reported 20 new community cases, all in the largest city of Auckland.

New Zealand remains in lockdown as it tries to eliminate an outbreak of the Delta variant that began last month. The country has reported just 27 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began. In Australia, the most populous state of New South Wales reported a record 1,533 new daily coronavirus cases.

S Korea reports Mu cases

Three cases of the Mu variant were identified in South Korea from those who visited Mexico, the US and Colombia, according to a statement from Korea Disease Control & Prevention Agency. Authorities will strengthen monitoring of the variant, it said.

Children were much more likely to be hospitalised as the Delta variant became widespread, two studies from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released on Friday found. But children did not appear to contract more serious illness. The share of hospitalised young people who had indications of more serious illness remained similar to earlier in the year and in 2020, the studies found.