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For months, the country has been protected from the pandemic, partly due to strict border measures that have allowed New Zealanders to enjoy near-normal lives.
But following the appearance in August of a case of the Delta variant of the coronavirus in Auckland, containments had to be put in place.
The two million inhabitants of the country’s largest city have been confined for seven weeks, while the national lockdown was lifted in early September.
Mme Ardern admitted that the highly contagious Delta variant is a game-changer and cannot be eliminated.
“Even with the long-term restrictions that we have imposed, we clearly have not reached the zero level,” she lamented.
Mme Ardern has announced that it will not immediately abandon its strategy to eliminate COVID-19, but that the Auckland containment will be relaxed even if the number of new cases does not drop.
She added that this change – which is a major development from its “zero COVID-19” goal – has become possible thanks to a sharp increase in the number of people vaccinated.
“Eliminating the virus was important because we didn’t have a vaccine, now we have it, so we can start to change the way we do things,” she told reporters.
Auckland will remain confined, but every week, the government will study the possibility of lifting certain measures.
Residents of the city will be able to meet outdoors in groups of up to 10 people as of Wednesday and measures such as reopening shops and schools will be considered in the coming weeks.
Opposition leader Judith Collins criticized Mme Ardern, believing that this is only a “vague list of intentions” and not a coherent strategy to replace the “zero COVID-19” goal.
The archipelago of five million inhabitants has recorded only 27 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
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