Wellington, Feb 7 (IANS): New Zealand reported 188 new community cases of Covid-19 on Monday, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

Among the 188 new community infections, 117 are in the largest city Auckland, 15 in Waikato, 20 in Bay of Plenty, 16 in Northland, 12 in the Lakes Region, three in Canterbury, two in Hutt Valley, one in Tairawhiti, Hawke's Bay and Mid Central each, reports Xinhua news agency.

In addition, 27 new cases were also detected at the New Zealand border.

The Ministry urged the public to take their booster jab as soon as possible.

There are currently 14 patients hospitalised across the country, with one person being treated at the ICU.

New Zealand has reported a total of 17,988 confirmed cases of Covid-19, including 13,266 cases in the current community outbreaks.

The death toll stands at 53.

The country is currently at the highest Red settings under the Covid-19 Protection Framework.

At Red settings, face masks become mandatory in many indoor environments and gatherings are limited to 100 people.