A woman passes by a closed theatre in Wellington, New Zealand, March 22, 2020. New Zealand reported 14 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 66. The country is at COVID-19 alert level two. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)
WELLINGTON, March 22 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand reported 14 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 66.
The newly reported cases are in both North Island and South Island regions of Auckland, Northland, Canterbury, New Plymouth, Waikato, Tauranga, Coromandel, and Dunedin, the Ministry of Health confirmed.
Director-General of Health Dr. Ashley Bloomfield said 11 of the new cases had history of international travel. For the three cases who didn't travel abroad, one was a close contact of another case, while the other two had close contact with international travellers.
The two cases of possible community transmission reported on Saturday were still being investigated as connection to international travel had not been able to be found yet.
New Zealand has so far conducted 6,000 COVID-19 tests, and is at COVID-19 alert level two.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a four-stage COVID-19 alert system on Saturday. She urged people to take the disease seriously.
