Wellington: A total of six new Delta cases of COVID-19 including one fully vaccinated nurse from an Auckland hospital has been confirmed by the New Zealand government. The rise in COVID cases has been linked to the first community case which has resulted in the country’s second-toughest lockdown beginning in the wee hours of Tuesday. Till now, the total number of community cases reported is seven. News agency Xinhua reported that only essential services such as supermarkets and service stations will be operational. Schools and businesses will remain closed under the protocols of lockdown.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said genome sequencing results confirmed that it is the Delta variant that is linked to genome sequencing of cases in Australia’s New South Wales outbreak. Addressing a media briefing, Ardern said, “Our case has originated in Australia.”
The continuous spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 in Australian states has resulted in the suspension of the trans-Tasman free quarantine travel, that started in the month of April.
The seven community cases include a 58-year-old man in Auckland’s North Shore who tested positive on Tuesday, his 20-year-old workmate, who infected his other three flatmates, and the remaining two being friends with the four cases, as said by Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield.
One of the three flatmates is the fully vaccinated 21-year-old nurse who works at the Auckland City Hospital and had been working in recent days, Bloomfield said, adding that the hospital has taken some immediate actions to shut down any potential spread, including stopping unnecessary movements between wards and testing all staff and patients on the ward. PM Ardern said the nationwide lockdown was appropriate, terming it as doing it once and doing it right. “Our whole ambition here is: do it once, do it right. Short and sharp is better than light and long and I think we all agree,” she told New Zealand local media during a morning interview.
New Zealand orders mask use as new cases found
PM Arden further announced that the usage of masks will now be mandatory for people aged over 12 when they are visiting essential services such as supermarkets, pharmacies, and service stations and their staffs. Masks must also be worn while using public transports, bus terminals and taxis.
“We know of instances where people have picked up Delta simply by walking past someone with it,” said a Ministry of Health statement.
New Zealand has entered the level four national lockdown from Tuesday midnight after the first Delta variant case has been registered in the Auckland community. The Alert Level of the lockdown will be reviewed after three days for all areas except Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula which is likely to remain at Level 4 for an initial period of seven days.
Many Aucklanders had tried to flee from the city using various means such as boats, caravans, and bikes before the imposed lockdown took effect. As a result, with the help of the police, residents of the Coromandel Peninsula have set up roadblocks to curb the fleeing Aucklanders.
(With Inputs from IANS)