“Planned and prepared for this” says New Zealand PM after first COVID-19 cases in 102 days

NEWZEALAND-SHOOTING/PRAYER

Ending a streak of 102 days without a locally-transmitted case of COVID-19, New Zealand on Tuesday saw four cases that had come via community transmission—the first time in 102 days that a case was reported which wasn’t in managed isolation or a quarantine facility.

“While we have worked incredibly hard to prevent this scenario, we have also planned and prepared for it. We have a resurgence plan that we are now activating,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at an emergency briefing.

The four cases were seen in a single family and were acquired from an unknown source—there was no link to overseas travel among them. Tens of thousands are expected to be tested now in a bid to contain and trade the source of infection.

A level-3 lockdown will be imposed over Auckland from midday Wednesday which will last for three days, while the rest of the country will go under a two-day level 2 lockdown.

Gatherings of ten of more people will be prohibited in Auckland, and schools and childcare facilities will be closed except for the children of essential workers.

As of August 11, New Zealand had over 1,500 cases of COVID-19. The country has been heralded as a rare success story against the virus—after a surge in cases in the end of March, new infections largely tapered off in April following the use of the four-level alert system, an early and strict lockdown, a low population density and adherence to WHO guidelines for containing the virus.  

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