As of Tuesday night, New Zealand has gone into a national lockdown after one positive COVID case was found.
Jacinda Arden announced the snap lockdown after a single new case of infection, suspected to be the new Delta variant, was found in Auckland.
New Zealand will be in level 4 lockdown – the highest alert level – for at least three days. Both Auckland and Coromandel will remain in lockdown for seven days, as the infected individual recently travelled to these areas.
Level 4 requires the closing of schools, offices, and all non-essential services.
New Zealanders are currently sheltering in their ‘bubbles’ of immediate household members and dependents. They are only permitted to leave the house to buy food and medical supplies, to access medical care, or for socially distanced exercise.
Whilst this may seem like an extreme reaction, cases have already risen to 10 and models suggest that the true numbers may be as high as 100.
Arden has been praised for her decisive handling of the pandemic when it first swept the world, sending New Zealand into a national lockdown in March, despite low numbers.
The country was able to eliminate the virus much quicker than other nations, with only 26 reported COVID deaths and less than 3,000 cases.
Arden emphasised the need for fast action in the face of the new variant.
‘Delta has been called a gamechanger – and it is. It means we need to again go hard and early to stop the spread. We have seen what can happen elsewhere if we fail to get on top of it. We only get one chance.’
She met some backlash from overseas commentators, including ex-politician Nigel Farage who claimed she has ‘lost her marbles’ and American journalist Glenn Greenwald who called the move ‘demented.’
Whilst there was also some resistance from anti-lockdown protestors in Auckland and other cities, Arden’s ‘team of 5 million’ have largely shown support for her lockdown measures.
#NZhellhole is currently trending on Twitter again after Kiwis use it to make fun of hysterical reactions to their lockdown.