New Zealand reported on Sunday 13 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus for the last 24 hours, as the country’s first outbreak continued to grow in months.
All but one of the new cases were from the transfer of the community and appeared to be linked to a cluster in Auckland, where the most recent outbreak began, said Ashley Bloomfield, the New Zealand director- general of health. The 13th was a traveler who returned from abroad and was in managed quarantine.
It brings the number of active cases in New Zealand to 69. Since the beginning of the year, the country had recorded 1,271 cases, Bloomfield said.
New Zealand is struggling with its second outbreak of infections and a lockdown is taking place over Auckland.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is set to decide on Monday whether a general election will be held on September 19, with most analysts expecting her to oppose opposition to delays. Parliament will be dissolved on Monday.
After spending 102 days in New Zealand extensively keeping out infections, Ardern has been praised for her decisive response to the pandemic, and opinion polls have shown her Labor Party in a winning position.
Pollsters have not been able to poll voters since the last outbreak, but analysts expect Ardern to decide to move forward with the election next month.
The opposition was forced to cancel campaign events due to movement restrictions and crowds due to the health scare, and the opposition accused Ardern of using the pandemic to shake support, as it appears on television almost daily. to trust New Zealanders.
With Reuters
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