There are 69 new cases of Covid-19 in the community and nine further cases of the Omicron variant in international arrivals today.

There are 69 new cases of Covid-19 in the community and nine further cases of the Omicron variant in international arrivals today.

There are 59 in Auckland, seven in Waikato, two in the Bay of Plenty and one in Taranaki.

There are 62 cases in hospital today, seven of which are in ICU or HDU.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health reported nine further cases of the Omicron variant in international arrivals, taking New Zealand's total to 22 cases with the variant.

All remain in managed isolation with the exception of one case who has recovered.

Meanwhile, New South Wales reported 2501 new Covid-19 cases, and a rise in the number of people in hospital to 261, in the 24 hours to Sunday evening.

Te Punaha Matatini complex systems researcher Dr Dion O'Neale said a community outbreak of the Omicron variant in New Zealand would probably mirror what has happened in New South Wales. Covid-19 modelling experts warn the highly-transmissible variant poses a serious risk to a largely unrestricted summer.