Wellington:
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday prolonged a lockdown in New Zealand’s largest metropolis, saying extra time was wanted to make sure a cussed cluster of coronavirus infections was underneath management.
Ardern mentioned stay-at-home orders would stay in place throughout Auckland till at the least late Sunday, as a substitute of restrictions easing late Wednesday as initially deliberate.
“These further 4 days are believed vital to permit us to maneuver down a degree in Auckland, and keep down,” she mentioned.
“We wish each confidence and certainty for everybody.”
Auckland went into lockdown on August 12, a day after the virus re-emerged within the metropolis, ending New Zealand’s file of 102 days with out group transmission.
The cluster has since grown from 4 to 101 and its supply stays unknown, regardless of intensive genome testing and call tracing.
Ardern mentioned extra circumstances have been possible and well being authorities wanted to substantiate the cluster was contained earlier than altering the lockdown settings.
She mentioned even when the Auckland restrictions are eased, all the nation might stay at Degree Two, the second-lowest ranking on New Zealand’s four-tier virus alert system.
It means social distancing and limits on mass gatherings till at the least Sunday, September 6.
Ardern additionally mentioned masks could be obligatory on public transport and flights.
New Zealand suppressed the virus with a strict seven-week lockdown earlier this yr and its re-emergence has pressured the nation’s normal election to be pushed again to October 17 from September 19.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
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