New Zealand reports 5 new cases amid fresh outbreak
New Zealand reported five new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, three of which were locally transmitted.
The other two cases had been imported from abroad and were detected in isolation facilities. The national total of confirmed cases now stands at 1,344, of which 134 are active, according to data published on the New Zealand Ministry of Health’s website.
![PHOTO: A man wearing a face mask walks along an empty street during lockdown in Auckland, New Zealand, on Aug. 24, 2020.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/International/man-wearing-mask-walks-by-mural-auckland-new-zeala_hpEmbed_20200826-092653_3x2_992.jpg)
Health officials in New Zealand are trying to control a fresh outbreak there after going 102 days without any local transmission of the novel coronavirus. The new cluster of cases was discovered earlier this month in Auckland, the country’s most populous city, prompting authorities to impose a lockdown in the region and to reschedule national elections.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has extended Auckland’s lockdown, which is now slated to end Sunday night.