After a cluster of nine instances of the Omicron form revealed community transmission from the North to South islands following a wedding, New Zealand will implement mask laws and ban gatherings beginning at midnight on Sunday.
Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, has delayed her wedding as the country implements new limitations to curb the spread of the Covid-19 omicron strain in the population, she informed reporters. After a cluster of nine instances of the omicron form revealed community transmission from the North to South islands following a wedding, New Zealand will implement mask laws and ban gatherings beginning at midnight on Sunday. A family flew from Auckland, New Zealand's capital, to a wedding on the South Island attended by 100 guests. The entire family, as well as a flight attendant, tested positive.
(1/5) : Following cases of the Omicron variant in the community, the Government has announced that the whole of New Zealand will move into the Red COVID-19 Protection Framework settings from 11:59pm tonight 🔴 pic.twitter.com/hxzSjMis2s
— New Zealand Labour (@nzlabour)
Under the Covid-19 protection framework, New Zealand will shift to a red setting, with increased mask-wearing and a cap of 100 customers indoors in hospitality settings and events like weddings, or 25 individuals if venues do not use vaccination passes, Ardern said. "My wedding will not take place," she told reporters, adding that she was sorry for anyone who was in a similar situation. When reporters asked Ardern how she felt about her wedding cancellation, she said, "Such is life."
She said, "I am no different from, dare I say, hundreds of other New Zealanders who have had much more severe effects from the epidemic, the most heartbreaking of which being the inability to be with a loved one when they are critically sick. That will far outweigh any grief I may feel." Since March 2020, New Zealand's borders have been closed to immigrants. Concerns over an Omicron epidemic in neighbouring Australia prompted the administration to postpone plans for a gradual reopening from mid-January to the end of February.
Under certain conditions, people who can go to New Zealand must apply to remain in state-run quarantine facilities. The government halted providing new seats last week due to an increase in the number of persons arriving with Omicron. Approximately 94 per cent of New Zealand's population over the age of 12 is completely immunised, and approximately 56 per cent of those eligible have received booster injections.