JAKARTA - New Zealand raised its COVID-19 alert level in its capital Wellington on Wednesday, June 23, amid fears the city may have been exposed to the highly contagious Delta variant that has sparked a new outbreak.
Wellington raised the country's 'Alert Level 2' status, one notch below the lockdown, which was in effect until midnight on Sunday as a precaution, to curb a potential outbreak after an Australian tourist tested positive for COVID-19 while returning to Sydney from Wellington.
"This is not a lockdown, this is a precautionary measure that will remain in place while we track and test everything we need", New Zealand's COVID-19 Minister Chris Hipkins said at a news conference in Wellington, cited from Reuters, Wednesday, June 23.
With Alert 2 status, offices, schools, and businesses can remain open but must comply with social distancing rules. Sports and recreational activities are allowed, provided they include physical distancing, but gatherings of more than 100 people will not be permitted, including at weddings, funerals, and other events.
With a population of 5 million people, New Zealand is among the few countries that have contained the spread of COVID-19 and returned to normal, with the last positive case due to community transmission reported around four months ago.
New Zealand agreed to travel quarantine-free with the Australian nation earlier this year, as both countries have brought the community spread of the coronavirus under control.
But concerns about the outbreak emerged after testing positive for an unnamed male Australian tourist, who visited more than a dozen locations including the national Te Papa museum, pubs, cafes, bookstores, and hotels during his trip last weekend.
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Passengers on flights used by that person are also asked to be isolated and undergo testing. Meanwhile, Sydney, Australia - Wellington, New Zealand flights were also suspended for three days, effective Tuesday evening.
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