WELLINGTON – New Zealand today extended a national Covid-19 lockdown, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying an outbreak of the Delta variant has yet to peak.
She said the rapid spread of the highly transmissible strain means that it is too early to lift restrictions imposed last week after a cluster emerged in Auckland, ending a six-month run of no local cases.
“Delta had a head start on us and we’ve needed to catch up as quickly as we could... we don’t think we have reached the peak of this outbreak.”
She said 35 new cases have been detected, taking the total to 107, with more than 13,000 close contacts undergoing testing.
New Zealand’s lockdown had been due to expire late tomorrow, but Ardern said it will continue through to Friday nationwide and until the evening of August 31 in Auckland.
“The safest option for all of us right now is to hold the course for longer.
“This will allow us to have additional data and see if the virus has spread.”
The country’s “Covid zero” elimination strategy, which has resulted in just 26 deaths in a population of five million, has relied on strict border controls backed by hard lockdowns when any cases do slip through.
Ardern’s own Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins yesterday questioned whether Delta renders the strategy unviable, but the prime minister said she believes in it “absolutely”.
“Our plan has worked before, and together, we can make it work again.”
She previously announced plans to relax restrictions next year, when vaccination rates are higher.
Only about 20% of New Zealand’s population is fully inoculated, one of the lowest rates in the developed world. – AFP, August 23, 2021
