New Zealand will remain in a nationwide Alert Level 4 lockdown until at least next Tuesday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced.
During Friday’s Covid-19 briefing, Ardern confirmed all of New Zealand will stay at Level 4 until at least 11:59pm on Tuesday August 24, with Cabinet to meet on Monday to discuss any future level changes.
“We just don’t quite know the full scale of this Delta outbreak,” Ardern said.
“That tells us we need to continue to be cautious and that we need more time before we have the complete picture we need to change our settings.”
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield revealed he had recommended to the Government that Auckland and Coromandel would need to be extended beyond Tuesday.
It comes as 11 new cases were announced today, three of which were are in Wellington while the other eight are in Auckland. There are now 31 community cases of Covid-19. Locations of interest have ballooned to more than 140.
The Director General of Health revealed what is advice was to Cabinet after the PM confirmed the whole country would remain at Alert Level 4 until Tuesday. (Source: Other)
Ardern said the “good news” was that the cases New Zealand has in the community are related.
So far, 2362 contacts have been identified, excluding large gatherings such as high schools and those who attended church.
Dr Bloomfield provided an update on locations of interest for areas outside of Auckland.
Of the three new cases in Wellington, Dr Bloomfield said one returned from Auckland by air and the other two by car.
Asked about potential locations of interest, he understood there were four petrol stations between Auckland and Wellington, four restaurants and cafes, one medical centre, one pharmacy and a workplace.
Ardern said it was too soon to draw any firm conclusions as close contacts are yet to have their day five test which will determine the reach of the outbreak.
A large number of locations are likely to lead to more cases emerging, Ardern said.
People in the South Island have also been at locations of interest, Ardern confirmed.
New Zealand went into Alert Level 4 at 11.59pm on Tuesday, August 17. This was initially for at least a week for Auckland and the Coromandel and three-days for the rest of the country.
The Ministry of Health confirmed 11 new community cases today, eight in Auckland and three in Wellington who had recently been at a location of interest in Auckland.
It brings the current total of the Delta outbreak to 31.
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