Coronavirus: New Zealand has 21 confirmed new cases of COVID-19 in the community

Publish Date
Sunday, 22 August 2021, 1:12PM

New Zealand has another 21 new cases of COVID-19 in the community, says Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield.

That brings the total number of active cases in the community to 72.

Twenty of the new cases are in Auckland and one in Wellington.

Sixty-one of the 72 cases are now confirmed as part of the Auckland cluster, with the remaining 11 under investigation to confirm the linkage to the outbreak.

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On Friday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern extended the alert level 4 lockdown nationwide until 11.59pm on Tuesday 24 August, bringing the rest of the country in line with Auckland and the Coromandel.

But it appears Auckland could face a longer lockdown, with the Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield confirming he wanted an extension.

That is now likely to be announced tomorrow.

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