The entire nation will remain at “alert level 4,” until 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 27, the ministry of health announced. The region of Auckland, the epicenter of the latest outbreak of 35 CCP virus cases, will be under the nation’s strictest rules until at least Aug. 31.
“We don’t yet believe that we have reached the peak of this outbreak or necessarily the edge of it,” Ardern said at a press briefing in the capital of Wellington. “That does mean the safest option for all of us right now is to hold the course for longer.”
“Six days into the outbreak, we are building a picture of Delta’s spread,” she added. “There remain a number of unanswered questions, and with Delta, more certainty is needed.”
Under level four, the highest level of lockdown in the country, everyone is required to stay at home and are only allowed to make physical contact with those in their household bubble. Businesses and schools will be closed and only essential services will be operational.
Health officials announced last week that a 58-year-old man from Auckland, who hasn’t been identified, likely contracted the Delta variant, although genome sequencing has yet to be completed. Ardern enforced a snap three-day nationwide lockdown over the case that began on Aug. 17 around midnight.
The outbreak of the Delta variant has called into question Ardern’s snap lockdowns and border restrictions approach that have curtailed New Zealand’s economy.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand last week held off boosting interest rates following the outbreak and lockdown. The Bank’s chief economist said on Aug. 23 that the outbreak wasn’t a “game-changer” yet, but was causing some economic uncertainty.
“For now, everyone is in agreement ... elimination is the strategy,” Ardern said, as she defended her CCP virus strategy during the Aug. 23 briefing. “There is no discussion or debate amongst any of us about that because that is the safest option for us while we continue to vaccinate our people.”
About 20 percent of the 5.1 million New Zealanders are fully vaccinated, with approximately 1.75 million people having taken a first dose and just over 1 million people having received two doses.