New Zealand's prime minister says there are early signs that COVID cases falling

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that there were early signs that new COVID-19 cases were falling, even as hospitalisations jumped to their highest level since March. New Zealand recorded 6,910 new COVID cases on Monday, well below average levels over the past week, according to data from the health ministry. However, the number of people in hospital with COVID jumped to 836, the most since March 29 when 842 COVID patients were in hospital.