WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – The New Zealand government said Monday it will extend a strict national shutdown until at least Friday as it tries to extinguish a growing coronavirus outbreak.
The news came when health authorities reported 35 new local infections of the fast-spreading delta variant, the highest number of daily cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand since April last year.
First discovered last week, the outbreak has grown to 107 cases. But health authorities say they have found links between most of these cases, giving them hope of being able to undo the outbreak. Authorities said they have tested about 3% of the country’s entire population over the past six days.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the closure will continue at least until the end of the month in Auckland, where most cases have been found.
“We need more information. We need more certainty. We don’t want to take any risks with the delta, “Ardern said.” If the world has taught us anything, we need to be careful with this variant of COVID-19. “
Ardern said the modeling suggested the outbreak should peak in a few days and then decrease.
One of the reasons blockages are considered essential in New Zealand is because inoculation rates remain low, with only 20% of people fully vaccinated. Strict closure means most people have to stay home, leaving it only to buy groceries or medicine or to exercise.
Ardern also announced that the government has decided to suspend regular sessions of Parliament for a week, an action that drew criticism from opposition lawmakers.
“At a time when New Zealanders have the hardest closure in the world and have lost our freedoms due to the government’s failure to vaccinate and secure the border, this move by Jacinda Ardern is unattainable,” said Judith Collins, the leader of the opposition.
While New Zealand maintained its strategy of trying to eliminate the virus completely through blockades, neighboring Australia seemed to have admitted that the blockades could not completely eliminate the delta variant and could only slow its spread.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the closures were not “a sustainable way to live in this country”. He said states must open their borders once vaccination rates reach 80% of the population aged 16 and over.
His statements came as an outbreak in Sydney grew in more than 800 cases, almost to record levels. Health officials said a Melbourne-centered outbreak also grew in 71 cases and another in the capital, Canberra, grew in 16 cases. The three cities remained closed.
But in Western Australia, where there are no community infections, Prime Minister Mark McGowan said his government would not reopen the 80% vaccination level if that meant reintroducing the virus.
Approximately 24% of Australians are fully vaccinated.
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McGuirk reported from Canberra, Australia.