Auckland to enter seven-day lockdown after mystery local COVID-19 case
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden announced a snap seven-day lockdown in Auckland last night, put in place due to a mystery local COVID-19 case.
From 6am today (4am AEDT), Auckland moves to Alert Level 3 for the week, while the rest of New Zealand is Alert Level 2.
Ms Ardern said the lockdown was in response to a new community case detected this afternoon that did not have a clear link to a small cluster of cases already in the south of the city.
The case is an older sibling of a Papatoetoe High School student who was a casual plus contact. The student had returned three recent negative tests and is asymptomatic.
“Public health officials are undertaking interviews to help establish how this new case was infected,” New Zealand’s Ministry of Health said in a statement.
All five members of the household are being tested with results expected this evening.
The case developed symptoms on Tuesday 23 February. As a result, the person is regarded as being potentially infectious from Sunday 21 February.
Under Alert Level 3, people in Auckland will not be permitted to leave their home unless for essential reasons.
Social gatherings are not permitted and weddings and funerals will be capped at 10 people.
Under Alert Level 2 people are still able to attend work and school, however, more stringent rules will be put in place including the use of face masks must be work on public transport and tighter restrictions on social gatherings.
