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N. Zealand extends national lockdown

China Daily | Updated: 2021-08-28 09:35

A normally busy road is deserted during a lockdown to curb the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak in Auckland, New Zealand, on Aug 26, 2021. [Photo/Agencies]

WELLINGTON-New Zealand on Friday extended a national lockdown sparked by a Delta variant outbreak into next week but warned restrictions would last longer in the infection epicenter of Auckland.

The Delta cluster emerged in Auckland last week, ending a six-month run without local transmissions that had made New Zealand one of the world's last COVID-free zones.

While there were 70 new cases reported on Friday, taking the total to 347, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there were signs the outbreak would soon peak if stay-at-home orders remained in place.

"We may be seeing the beginning of a plateau in cases," she said. "Our job is to keep up the hard work in order to bend, and then flatten, the (infection) curve."

Ardern said a nationwide lockdown imposed on Aug 17 would now continue until Tuesday.

She said Auckland, where all but 14 cases have been found, and the neighboring region of Northland, were set to face at least an extra two weeks of hard lockdown.

New Zealand is pursuing a "COVID zero" elimination strategy-which has resulted in just 26 deaths in a population of 5 million-using strict border controls backed by hard lockdowns when any cases do slip through.

Most residents must still remain at home during level three, but some businesses such as restaurants and retail outlets can reopen using contactless collection methods.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government on Friday decided to utilize 1.4 trillion yen ($13 billion) in fiscal 2021 reserve funds, mainly for purchasing additional COVID-19 vaccines and securing medicines for patients, local media reported on Friday.

It came after drugmaker Takeda and the Health Ministry said on Thursday that Japan will halt the use of 1.63 million doses of Moderna's vaccine after reports of contamination in several vials.

Agencies - Xinhua

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