AUCKLAND (REUTERS) – New Zealand on Tuesday (Aug 18) reported 13 new confirmed cases of coronavirus for the last 24 hours compared with nine a day earlier as the Pacific nation battles to contain an outbreak in the biggest city of Auckland.

Twelve cases are linked to the existing virus cluster in Auckland, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said in a media briefing in Wellington.

Auckland, home to nearly a third of New Zealand’s 5 million people, remains in lockdown due to a flare up in infections there. Social distancing rules are in place in other towns and cities.

New Zealand has so far recorded just under 1,300 confirmed cases and 22 deaths.

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