The first outbreak of Covid-19 in New Zealand in six months will escalate, Prime Minister Jindind Ardern warned on Wednesday.
The first local case of Covid-19 was discovered in New Zealand on Tuesday since a coronavirus infection was detected in an Auckland resident, and a strict quarantine regime was established throughout the country. Six more cases were discovered on Wednesday.
“We expect the number of cases to increase,” Ardern told a news conference.
She said Covid-19 was also found in a hospital in Auckland, among six cases uncovered on Wednesday.
A particularly contagious type of coronavirus delta has been identified in all seven cases detected this week.
It has already been reported that the New Zealand government on Tuesday took a radical decision to impose a strict quarantine regime throughout the country, a step following the approval of one local case of Covid-19.
The strict quarantine regime takes effect on Tuesday before midnight. Under its terms, citizens must stay at home and avoid contact with other people. Most residents are allowed to leave their homes only to buy basic necessities or play sports. Masks should be worn indoors.
In Auckland, where the infected man lives, and in Coromandel, the city he has visited, the quarantine regime is set at seven days, and in the rest of the country at three days.
New Zealand had managed to eradicate the virus, and the last cases of local transmission were detected there in February. Several people diagnosed with Covid-19 are currently in quarantine, but they have all come from abroad and become infected outside New Zealand.-
– .
