New Zealand, which has been praised for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, placed its largest city back into lockdown Wednesday after the country recorded its first COVID-19 cases in more than three months.
Four members of one family in Auckland tested positive, causing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to reimpose tight restrictions in the city and social distancing measures across the entire country until at least Friday.
Residents of Auckland, a city of around 1.7 million people, were given very little time to prepare for the return to level 3 restrictions, requiring people to stay at home, work from home and, if possible, wear masks when going outside. All schools, public facilities, bars, restaurants and businesses were also shut.
Police set up roadblocks to discourage a mass exodus from Auckland, while supermarkets rationed the sale of some staple products amid a rush to the shelves. Long queues formed at COVID-19 testing centers in the city.
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Source: NBC News
The Auckland region will move to Alert Level 3, and the rest of New Zealand
will move to Alert Level 2. The initial timing of this change in Alert Levels has been set for 3 days to midnight on Friday, August 14th, at which time further information is expected to have been issued by the NZ Government.
BDP International New Zealand is classed as an essential business. We remain fully operational, and all our services remain unchanged, as do that of our NZ partners and suppliers. Your cargo will continue to move as per normal. Should you have any questions, please reach out to your local BDP representative.
