The Ministry of health has confirmed that the cases are infected with the first British variant of the virus seen in the country, following the discovery of a confirmed 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, prompting authorities to declare a three-day closure of the city from today.
The Ministry of Health said tests confirmed that the cases in Auckland were infected with a highly infectious variant of the virus originally found in the United Kingdom, and were not related to other confirmed cases found in New Zealand.
The Ministry of Health said: “The authorities have taken swift and robust action in response to these latest cases to identify and eliminate the potential for further transmission at the earliest opportunity. The results of this test make the authorities’ decision even more compelling.”
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ordered a three-day closure of the city for nearly 2 million Auckland residents from today, with schools closed and non-essential business activities having to stop.
No new cases have been reported since the initial cluster of three people were diagnosed in the same Family, but health officials are rushing to investigate how a variant of the virus entered the mildly infected country.
This is the first Time in nearly six months that New Zealand has closed its cities. The Pacific island nation has been praised for handling the outbreak well, with only 25 cases of illness among its 5 million people.
The rest of New Zealand maintains a lower alert level 2 and people are required to wear masks when travelling on public transport; parties are limited to a maximum of 100 people.
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