New Zealand officials continued to investigate the source of an outbreak of the coronavirus Thursday, reporting 14 new cases the same day as long queues of people formed to escape a renewed lockdown in the country's biggest city or be tested for the virus.

The discovery of four infected family members in Auckland two days ago shocked a country that had not recorded a case of COVID-19 for more than three months, raising some criticism of the government's handling of the crisis.

New Zealand announced on Thursday that there were 13 new cases in the community, and one overseas arrival who was in quarantine, bringing the total number of active cases to 36.