Marriage Canceled Due To Spread Of Omicron Variant, New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern: I'm No Different

JAKARTA - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden has called off her wedding, as the country imposed new restrictions to slow the community spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, she told reporters on Sunday.

New Zealand will enforce a mask rule and limit gatherings from midnight on Sunday, after a cluster of nine cases of the Omicron variant COVID-19 showed the community spread from the North to the South Island after the wedding.

A family returns to Nelson on the South Island by plane after attending a wedding and other events in Auckland on the North Island. The family and a flight attendant tested positive.

New Zealand will switch to a red setting under the COVID-19 protection framework, with more masks on. Indoor hospitality arrangements such as bars and restaurants and events such as weddings will be limited to 100 people. The limit is lowered to 25 people if the venue does not use vaccine tickets, said PM Arden.

"My wedding won't take place," she told reporters, adding she regretted anyone caught in a similar scenario.

In fact, New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern has not revealed the exact date of her annulled wedding. However, it is said to be close.

Asked by reporters how she felt about her annulment to longtime partner and fishing host Clarke Gayford, Ardern replied: "That's how life is."

"I am no different from, dare I say, the thousands of other New Zealanders who have had a far more devastating impact on the pandemic," said PM Ardern.

"The saddest thing is the inability to be with loved ones, sometimes when they are terminally ill. That would be far, far beyond the sadness I was going through."

Please note, New Zealand's borders have been closed to foreigners since March 2020. The government postponed plans for a gradual reopening from mid-January to late February, due to concerns about potential outbreaks of an Omicron-like variant in neighboring Australia.

People who can travel to New Zealand with narrow exceptions must apply for residence in a state-run quarantine facility. The government last week stopped issuing new slots amid a surge in the number of people arriving with Omicron.

Meanwhile, about 94 percent of New Zealand's population over the age of 12 have been fully vaccinated and about 56 percent of those who qualify have received a booster shot.