New Zealand announced an extension of its COVID-19 lockdown for the second time in an attempt to eradicate the extremely contagious Delta strain.
On Aug. 17, the country was put on lockdown after a single case of COVID-19 was discovered, which officials suspected was caused by the Delta strain.
Officials previously extended the lockdown by four days on Monday. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stated in a press conference Friday that the lockdown will be extended for another four days, until Aug. 31, for the majority of the country.
According to health experts, Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city and the hub of the outbreak, would “likely” remain under the country’s toughest degree of lockdown, Level 4, for at least another two weeks.
New Zealand has documented 347 cases since the pandemic began, with 333 of those occurring in Auckland.
According to Johns Hopkins University, there have been 3,228 cases and 26 fatalities since the pandemic began.
Official statistics revealed that the country reported 70 new illnesses on Friday, all in Auckland, up from 68 new day cases on Thursday.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Ardern said the country will adhere to its “elimination” policy to combat the Delta strain, which has already mutated to better evade the immune response.
Officials said the government has stepped up its vaccine campaign, delivering a COVID-19 injection to about 2% of the population in a single day on Friday, the most of any day during the epidemic.
