Wellington, Dec 15 (IANS): New Zealand reported 74 new Delta variant cases of Covid-19 in the community on Wednesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country's current community outbreak to 9,963.

Among the new infections, 56 were recorded in the largest city of Auckland, nine in nearby Waikato, seven in Bay of Plenty, one in Canterbury, and one in the Lakes District Health Board, according to the Ministry of Health.

The ministry also confirmed that a patient with Covid died in Tauranga, Xinhua news agency reported.

A total of 61 cases are being treated in hospitals, including four in intensive care units or high dependency units, a ministry statement said.

The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in New Zealand stands at 12,773 currently, according to the health ministry.

Wednesday is the first day since mid-August that Auckland borders are open and people who are fully vaccinated and have a negative Covid report in the past 72 hours are allowed to travel into or out of the city, a step to further relax the Covid restrictions in New Zealand.