The goal was ambitious: no corona cases on the island.
But the highly contagious Delta variant of the corona virus makes it difficult for the New Zealand government.
Wellington - In New Zealand, another part of the country will be placed under lockdown after a single corona case has been confirmed. In Northland, north of the big city of Auckland on the tip of the North Island, a person had previously tested positive for the virus, as the minister to contain the corona pandemic, Chris Hipkins, said on Friday. "It is extremely important that we prevent a potential spread, extensively test and continue the efforts to trace contacts," stressed the politician.
Shops would have to switch to contactless trading, and education centers would close if they weren't closed anyway because of the school holidays.
The measures should initially apply until the beginning of the week.
Hipkins urged the population to get vaccinated urgently and not wait any longer.
So far, only around 53 percent of the five million inhabitants have been fully vaccinated.
New Zealand: President Ardern says goodbye to the zero-covid strategy
Restrictions were imposed for the largest city of Auckland in August after a single case of corona infection was discovered.
The city was considered the stronghold of the eruption of the Delta variant in the Pacific state.
In the meantime, there has been a bit of relaxation there with falling numbers.
On Monday, however, stricter restrictions were imposed again in areas outside the metropolis due to several cases.
New Zealand is seen worldwide as a model country in the fight against the virus.
For a long time it pursued a so-called zero covid strategy.
Most recently, however, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had to admit that this is hardly possible with the spread of the highly contagious delta mutation.
So far, around 4,500 cases of infection have been confirmed, 28 people have died in connection with Covid-19.
(dpa / frs)
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