New Zealand’s Ministry of Health announced the country had officially gone 100 days without a reporting a single new local case of COVID-19 on August 10. Unfortunately, that run has come to an end after the Ministry announced on Tuesday, August 11 that four family members from south Auckland tested positive for coronavirus, according to reports from Travel and Leisure.
New Zealand had been coronavirus-free for 100 days prior to the new four cases.
As a result of this news, the city of Auckland will now revert back to a brief ‘Alert Level Three’ lockdown, set to begin Wednesday, August 12, and be lifted at midnight on Friday, 14 August. The rest of New Zealand will be placed under ‘Level Two.’
Health officials are still investigating how the four family members contracted the virus, as no one in the family had recently flown internationally. Those who have come into close contact with the family have also been tested and ordered to self-isolate for a 14 day period.
Under Alert Level Three, public spaces like bars and restaurants will be temporarily closed, and travel to and from the city will not be allowed, with the exception for those returning home. Health officials strongly recommend that everyone besides essential workers work from home during this time if they are able to.
‘These three days will give us time to assess the situation, gather information, make sure we have widespread contact tracing so we can find out more about how this case arose and make decisions on how to respond to it once we have further information,’ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardem said, Associated Press reported.
For the rest of country, all gatherings of more than 100 people will be banned, while live sporting events will be required to accommodate for social distancing.
According to the WorldoMeter, New Zealand has a total of 1,570 coronavirus cases and 1,526 recoveries. The country has also registered a total of 22 COVID-19 related deaths.
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