New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern Extends Auckland Lockdown to Control Covid Outbreak

• Auckland contributes more than a third of New Zealand’s gross domestic product and is home to 1.6 million people
• The city was put into level 3 lockdown on August 12

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said largest city Auckland will stay in lockdown four days longer than initially planned to ensure a community outbreak of Covid-19 is under control.

Auckland will exit lockdown at midnight on Aug. 30 rather than on Aug. 26, Ardern told reporters in Wellington on Monday.

Auckland contributes more than a third of New Zealand’s gross domestic product and is home to 1.6 million people. The city was put into level 3 lockdown on Aug. 12 when four cases were discovered, ending the nation’s 102-day Covid free run, while the rest of the country was placed into level 2, requiring social distancing restrictions to be reimposed.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Scrabbl staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)