New Zealand’s elections have been delayed by four weeks, until October 17, due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus in the country, announced Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
“It is clear that our current priority is to get the Covid outbreak under control and remove restrictions on New Zealanders as soon as possible,” Ardern said, speaking on Facebook Live post.
The prime minister said the country’s “resurrection plan is in full swing” with high levels of testing and tracking of contacts, in addition to restrictions on the community.
“However, it is clear that the relocation of Covid to Auckland at the start of the formal championship period has been cause for concern,” said Ardern.
New Zealand reported 12 locally transmitted cases on Friday as the country tackled a recent outbreak that ended a jealous run of more than 100 days without locally transmitted infections. The new cluster has asked the country to extend a lockdown on its most populous city, Auckland, as authorities scramble to track down the source of the outbreak.
The country had already spent five weeks under one of the world’s toughest lockdowns, closing most businesses and schools, and seeing people stay at home. Ardern has warned that she expects to see more cases. New Zealand has reported a total of 1,271 cases of coronavirus and 22 deaths.
Ardern said parliament will reconvene Tuesday and will be dissolved on September 6. She added that she did not intend to change the election date again.
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