Wellington Oct 11 (BNA): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that Covid-19 restrictions in parts of New Zealand will remain in place as the country faces its most challenging and challenging moments from the pandemic.
Auckland, the country’s largest city, was placed under restrictions after one case was discovered on August 18. The number of outbreaks has now reached 1,573.
Ardern said the city, as well as neighboring regions of Waikato and Northland, would remain under restrictions for at least three more days.
“Delta is a different and more difficult opponent,” Deutsche News Agency (dpa) reported.
“We need to maintain restrictions to stop the spread of the virus.”
Ardern said plans to reopen schools in Auckland on October 18 would not go ahead, as more safety measures are first needed to allow children to return to the classroom.
The Minister for Covid-19 Response, Chris Hepkins, said the government has also announced that it will mandate coronavirus vaccinations for the education, health and disability sectors.
“While most workers in these sectors have already been fully or partially vaccinated, we cannot leave anything to chance and make it mandatory.”
Hepkins said weekly tests will be required until these workers are vaccinated. “It’s not an easy decision, but we need people working with vulnerable communities who haven’t yet been vaccinated to take that extra step.”
New Zealand has a population of 5 million and has reported 4,300 cases of Covid-19 since the outbreak of the pandemic with 28 deaths.
About 48 percent of the country’s population has been fully vaccinated.
HF