New Zealand has reported 109 new locally acquired coronavirus cases, the bulk of them in its largest city, Auckland, as the country saw its second-worst day of daily infections since the pandemic began.

The country over the weekend also reported the first community case of the virus in its South Island in nearly a year, a cause for further headache, though health officials said the risks of a further spread from the case remained low.

The spike in cases has forced Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to abandon her elimination strategy and switch to living with the virus, and health officials have warned of an uptick in cases until vaccinations ramp up.

As of Monday, 71 per cent of eligible New Zealanders were fully inoculated, including 77pc of Aucklanders, Reuters reported.