The first new corona infection since February has been reported in New Zealand. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern immediately imposes a level four lockdown for the entire country.
Wellington – “React strictly, react early” (literally: “Go hard, go early”) is the motto of Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand. True to this motto, she has now reacted quickly and hard to the first proven corona case in New Zealand since February: Starting tomorrow, Wednesday (August 18, 21), the whole country will be in a level four lockdown for three days, as reported by Reuters and the news comes out.
The reason for the decision is that the New Zealand government wants to curb the spread of the delta variant of the corona virus. Although it has not yet been definitively established that the sick person is infected with the delta pathogen, caution is advised. Ardern wants to prevent the virus mutation from getting the upper hand, as is the case in other countries, such as Australia. “That means we have to act early and decisively to stop it from spreading. We only get one chance, ”said Adern. Therefore, she would rather start with tough measures and then loosen up.
What does stage four of the corona lockdown in New Zealand mean in concrete terms?
From 11:59 p.m. (local time), level four, the toughest lockdown level, applies to all five million people in New Zealand. For them, this means that schools, offices and all other institutions – with the exception of vital service providers and shops – are closed for the next three days. The New Zealanders should avoid contact and have to stay at home. Most of them are only allowed to leave the house to exercise or buy groceries, according to the report from the ARD studio.
In Auckland, the country’s largest city, and Coromandel, these restrictions apply for a full seven days. Because the 58-year-old Covid patient lives in Auckland and spent time in Coromandel, according to the latest findings. During these seven days, the authorities want to examine wastewater and test people with cold symptoms across the board. Because of the lockdown, people had queued in front of supermarkets to stock up on supplies, reported journalists on site.
New Zealand: vaccination freeze in Auckland – so far relatively few corona vaccinations
In Auckland, the corona vaccinations would also be suspended for the next two days, as the media agency Reuters announced. Across New Zealand, 17.3 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated against Corona so far, according to Our World in Data. According to ARD, around 32 percent of the population have their first corona vaccination.
