WELLINGTON, Aug. 22 :New Zealand reported 21 new cases of COVID-19 in the community, bring the number in the current outbreak to 72, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said at a press conference on Sunday.

Of the 21 new infections, 20 were in Auckland and one was in Wellington, said Bloomfield.

Among the total 72 cases of COVID-19 in the community, 61 were linked to the Auckland

cluster, and 12 were still under investigation, said Bloomfield.

The cluster of the current COVID-19 outbreak has been linked to a returnee from Sydney who arrived in Auckland on Aug. 7. Investigations are underway to find out the missing link between the returnee and the first case of the cluster.

The number of locations of interest where community cases of COVID-19 have been reported has increased to almost 300, with 8,667 contacts having been identified, said Bloomfield.