Four new coronavirus cases were 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 citywide lockdown as a “precautionary approach,” Reuters reported. The nation will move to level 3 of its virus restrictions, meaning 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 said in a news conference Tuesday. “We have had 102 days and it was easy to feel New Zealand was out of the woods. No country has gone as far as we did without having a resurgence. And because we were the only ones, we had to plan. And we have planned.”
All travel into Auckland will be restricted for nonresidents, she added. Meanwhile, the remainder of the country will enter the second level of restrictions for the same three-day period. Mass gatherings will be limited to 100 people and social distancing measures will be reimposed.
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Auckland locked down after New Zealand's first local coronavirus cases in months https://t.co/rCEWvtCdne pic.twitter.com/ztPEhCJFog
— The Hill (@thehill) August 11, 2020
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