New Zealand reinstates the restrictions for corona virus pandemic for the first time in 102 days after locally transmitted case was reported.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed four new locally transmitted coronavirus cases on Tuesday night.
She announced that New Zealand’s most populous city, Auckland, will temporarily see level three restrictions introduced for three days starting from midday on Wednesday.
All four cases are members of the same family, who live in South Auckland, the government said Tuesday.
The first case identified in the cluster was a person in their 50s with no overseas travel history.
The person has been symptomatic for five days and was confirmed positive on Tuesday.
Six members were tested from the same family and three of them tested Positive for the virus.
All close contacts of the four cases will remain in self-isolation for 14 days, and casual contacts of the infected individuals will self-isolate until they have a test result. Testing for the virus is free in New Zealand.
“This case is a wake-up call against any complacency that may have set in. We cannot afford to let this virus spread,” New Zealand’s director-general of health, Dr. Ashley Bloomfield, said in a statement.
We have done it before, we can do it again, said Dr. Ashley.
