COVID-19 continues to surge in New Zealand, which has reported 19,566 new community cases and growing hospitalisations.

Tuesday’s case count means New Zealand — so long a global leader in staving off the virus — has higher per capita infection levels than the UK or United States during their outbreak peaks.

However, New Zealand’s mortality rate remains the lowest in the developed world, though growing hospitalisations give cause for concern.

On Tuesday, health officials reported 373 people in hospital with the virus, and nine in intensive care, up from 344 hospitalisations and five in intensive care on Monday, showing the threat to the health system.

There are slightly fewer than 100,000 active COVID-19 cases in New Zealand — meaning two per cent of the population have tested positive for the virus. In all likelihood, many more have it.

Two-thirds of Tuesday’s record case count were recorded in Auckland, the centre of the Omicron outbreak.

Wellington also recorded 1000 cases in a day for the first time.

Many of those are being recorded in university halls of residence, with Stuff reporting Victoria University as having had 648 of its 2500 on-site students test positive to the virus in recent days.

The capital is home to an anti-vaccine protest which has entered its fourth week, with protesters camping out on parliament lawns, with cars and tents spilling over into local city centre streets.

The protesters are camped out illegally, and have abused locals and assaulted police as they dig in to make their point.

However, they have shown their enterprising side by building toilets on the street opposite parliament and plumbing them into the city’s sewage system.

They have also shown their humour, dubbing the conveniences the Peehive, in reference to the executive building that stands next to parliament known as the Beehive.

Police removed a hastily assembled shower block nearby, with protesters letting down police car tyres in retaliation.

Inside parliament, MPs adopted a hybrid online-offline model of attendance for the first time.

Maori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi became the first MP to appear in the house via videolink, addressing a debate on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

– AAP