WELLINGTON, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand recorded 5,939 new community cases of COVID-19 and 13 more deaths, the Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.

There have been 1,688 confirmed deaths attributable to COVID-19, either as the underlying cause of death or as a contributing factor since the pandemic began in New Zealand, the health ministry said.

Currently, 634 COVID-19 patients are being treated in hospitals in the country, including 15 in intensive care units or high dependency units, showed official data.

New Zealand has reported 1,652,485 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic hit the country in early 2020.

The country is currently under the orange settings of its COVID-19 Protection Framework, where there is no limit for gatherings.