New Zealand’s Coronavirus Nightmare Forces Country Back into Lockdown
The country seen internationally as setting the golden standard for its response to the coronavirus pandemic has been plunged into fresh lockdown. New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wasted no time reinforcing restrictions on Tuesday night following news of four new cases of COVID-19.
All four are relatives living in south Auckland.
It’s the first time in more than 100 days New Zealand has reported cases outside of returned travellers. As of noon on Wednesday, Auckland residents will reenter Stage 3 lockdown for three days while the rest of country will be forced into Stage 2.
“One of the most important lessons we’ve learned from overseas is the need to go hard and go early and stamp out flare-ups to avoid the risk of wider outbreak,” Ms Ardern said in a late-night press conference.
“As disruptive it is, a strong and rapid health response remains the best long term economic response.”
Appeal for calm
She also appealed for calm. “There will be ample stock on the shelves, there is no reason to go out and make any purchases this evening,” Ms Ardern said.
“I know that this information will be very difficult to receive.
“We had all hoped not to find ourselves in this position again but we had also prepared for it.”
Despite the plea, there were dramatic scenes at supermarkets, with shoppers stripping shelves bare.
In Auckland itself, the 60-hour lockdown saw queues around the corner at stores as people bought enough toilet paper to last 60 days. Queues of shoppers were seen snaking out of stores and around the corner.
The 60-hour lockdown is designed to allow health officials to conduct contact tracing and isolate any infectious people.