Four new cases of coronavirus have been identified in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, breaking a 102-day streak of no new cases in the country.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a closure of the city as a ‘precautionary approach’, Reuters reported. The nation will move to level 3 of its virus limitations, which means New Zealanders will stay home from work and school and they will not be allowed to gather in groups of 10 or more.
The new restrictions will last from Wednesday to Friday, Ardern said. During that time, officials will analyze the situation and conduct contact tracing.
“This is something we have prepared for,” she told a news conference on Tuesday. ‘We had 102 days and it was easy to feel like New Zealand was out of the woods. No country has gone as far as we did without having a resume. And because we were the only ones, we had to make plans. And we have planned. “
All travel to Auckland will be restricted to non-residents, she added. Meanwhile, the rest of the country will enter the second level of restrictions in the same period of three days. Mass meetings will be limited to 100 people and social distance measures will be re-introduced.
“I urge Aucklanders to come together as we did last time to extend the community’s transmission,” Auckland Mayor Phil Goff told Reuters. “Please stay, please do not buy in panic
The news comes just one month before the country’s national elections, scheduled for September 19. Ardern is comfortably ahead in the election, but the opposition National Party said the end of the coronavirus-free region was a referendum on the country’s leadership.
“This will come as a shock to all New Zealanders who believed what we were told – that we were on top of this virus,” said Judith Collins, leader of the National Party.
The country closed on February 26 after its first known case of the virus, and registered its last case of transmission from the community on May 1. Sunday marked 100 days with no known domestic transfer.
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