New Zealand officials have reported 27 new cases of the highly infectious Delta coronavirus variant in Auckland, as protestors take to the streets to rally against an almost two-month lockdown in the country's biggest city, reports Reuters.

Around 1,000 people rallied in the city, organised by Destiny Church, a Pentecostal fundamentalist Christian movement, demanded “freedom from lockdown”, New Zealand media reported. There were no immediate reports of violence or arrests.

Auckland's 1.7 million residents are expecting a government decision on Monday about whether it will remain sealed off from the rest of New Zealand.

Daily case numbers have fluctuated between 8 and 45 in recent days, with the total from the outbreak in the city standing at 1,295 cases.