New Zealand reported six new cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, the day after it entered a snap lockdown following its first community transmitted infection in almost six months.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a press conference the six new cases were all linked to a case in Auckland announced Tuesday.
Tuesday’s case was the first community transmitted case of Covid-19 found in the country since February 28.
One of the six new cases is a nurse, while another is a secondary school teacher.
Health officials are still searching for a link to the country’s border, but the initial case had been “genomically linked” to the outbreak in Australia’s New South Wales, Ardern said.
“Now the job we have to do is find out how and when it got here,” she said.
New Zealand entered a snap lockdown after Tuesday’s case was detected – meaning all schools and businesses closed, with only supermarkets, pharmacies and medical centres allowed to open.
Masks would now also mandatory for anyone aged over 12 when at any essential service, Ardern said.
“I know Delta is making people feel more anxious and more afraid and it is true that we will see more cases, but we can get on top of this, just like we have every other time, if we do it together.”
The lockdown will last until at least Saturday for the entire country.
New Zealand, with a country of 5 million, has reported about 2,570 cases of Covid-19 during the pandemic, with 26 deaths.
