Monday, February 15, 2021
Auckland in lockdown again
British mutant found in New Zealand
New Zealand is seen worldwide as a role model in the fight against the corona pandemic. Now the island state has reported the first new cases since January – two of them apparently go back to the British Corona variant. How the variant came to New Zealand is still unclear.
The Corona variant, which was first discovered in Great Britain, was detected for the first time in New Zealand. Two out of three infections registered in the metropolis of Auckland were due to the mutant, said the country's Ministry of Health. The three locally transmitted cases are the first new corona infections since January. The result of sequencing the pathogen in the third case of infection is still pending. Because of the discovery of the cases on Sunday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had ordered a three-day lockdown for the largest city in the country.
So far, no connection has been established between the infection cases based on the mutant and other corona cases in New Zealand, said the Ministry of Health. According to Chris Hipkins, the Minister for Corona Measures, those affected are a couple and their daughter in the megacity of Auckland. How the variant came to New Zealand is still unclear, according to the authorities.
Quickly into lockdown
The evidence of the mutant in the country underpins the "decision to act quickly and robustly" in order to "prevent the possibility of further spread," stressed the Ministry of Health. In Auckland, the lockdown announced by Ardern came into effect at midnight. Schools and almost all businesses are closed for 72 hours.
Meanwhile, according to Ardern, the first doses of the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine are setting up New Zealand. 60,000 cans were brought to Auckland, where they are to be vaccinated from Saturday to border officials and employees of quarantine facilities.
New Zealand is regarded worldwide as one of the role models in the fight against the corona pandemic. Since the beginning of the crisis, around 2000 infections have been detected in the island state with five million inhabitants, 25 people have died in connection with Covid-19.
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