Wellington, March 20 ( /Xinhua) New Zealand reported 12,020 new comm ty cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, said the Ministry of Health in a statement. Among the 12,020 new comm ty infections, 2,768 were in the largest city Auckland. The rest of the cases were identified across the nation, including 416 in Northland, 1,093 in Waikato, 804 in Bay of Plenty, 330 in the Lakes Region, 676 in Hawke’s Bay, 540 in MidCentral, 169 in Whanganui, 373 in Taranaki, 210 in Tairawhiti, 146 in Wairarapa, 795 in the Capital and Coast, 443 in Hutt Valley, 308 in Nelson Marlborough, 1,897 in Canterbury, 171 in South Canterbury, 840 in the Southern region, 22 in West Coast, and nine cases from unknown locations, according to the Ministry. In addition, there were 26 new cases of Covid-19 detected at the New Zealand border, said the Ministry. There were currently 957 Covid-19 patients in New Zealand hospitals, including 26 people at the intensive care t or high dependency t. The ministry also reported the deaths of nine people from Covid-19. Of these deaths, one was from Capital and Coast, four from Auckland, three from the Bay of Plenty and one from Waikato. New Zealand has so far reported 482,078 confirmed cases of Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. New Zealand 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. /XINHUA ACL0805