As the world was in shambles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, New Zealand was spared to live restriction-free, until reporting its first coronavirus case after six months.
The case, confirmed to be of the Delta strain, was announced on Wednesday by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Ardern imposed a national level 4 lockdown of at least three days, while Auckland, the country’s largest city, and Coromandel will be locked for a total of seven days.
She urged New Zealanders to stay at home and quit only for essential services wearing protective masks.
“Beating Delta means lifting our game. I ask New Zealanders to please follow the rules to the letter. We know from evidence overseas that the Delta variant can spread just by walking past someone.” Said the Prime Minister.
Until now, 5 more cases were confirmed in total, one of which is a fully vaccinated nurse from Auckland hospital.
“We have always had our way of responding and it’s go hard and go early, because it’s much better than going light and long and ending up in prolonged lockdowns,” said Prime Minister Ardern in a video posted on Facebook.
During the lockdown, businesses and schools will shift to online meetings.
Grant Robertson, Finance Minister announced the government is going to reinstate a wage subsidy beginning from Friday if the country remains in lockdown.
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