New Zealand reported seven new cases of coronavirus up to Saturday morning after a lockdown in Auckland was extended.
Six of the seven new cases were linked to the cluster at the centre of all the previous community cases, said Ashley Bloomfield, the director-general of health.
Up to Saturday, the authorities in New Zealand have reported 37 cases connected to the outbreak with 19 other people in quarantine.
The lockdown in Auckland, home to 1.7 million people, was extended for nearly two weeks after New Zealand reported 12 confirmed cases of Covid-19 on Friday.
The outbreak has delayed the start of the New Zealand women’s provincial rugby competition for at least two weeks. It had been scheduled to start on 22 August
“With Auckland-based teams unable to train or host matches for the next 12 days, the decision has been made not to start the competition next weekend,” wrote the head of women’s rugby, Cate Sexton. “We’ll now discuss with provincial unions and the Players Association around the different options for revising the draw.”
Lockdown forced the cancellation of the scheduled final game of the men’s Super Rugby Aotearoa competition at Eden Park on Sunday.
The competition had been seen by NZR as crucial to helping the country’s female players prepare for the defence of the rugby world cup in 2021 on home soil.
