Sad News From New Zealand, The Country Records First Death Due To COVID-19 Delta Variant

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - New Zealand on Saturday 4 September reported its first death from the Delta variant of the coronavirus and 20 new cases of infection. All the cases came from Auckland, the country's epicenter of the outbreak.

The woman who died from the Delta variant was in her 90s and had a number of illnesses, health officials said in a statement. It was the first death from COVID-19 since February.

"Every death serves as a reminder of the damage that COVID-19 does when the disease enters our communities," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in the statement.

"Elderly New Zealanders and those with underlying health conditions are most at risk of contracting the virus and this is why lockdowns are important to stop its spread."

New Zealand appears to have succeeded in breaking the chain of transmission of the highly contagious Delta variant. The number of cases on Saturday maintained the downward trend in recent days.

About 1.7 million people in Auckland, the country's largest city, have been in a level 4 lockdown since mid-August.

Restrictions have been relaxed in other areas, but schools and offices, as well as cafes and restaurants, and all crowded places are still closed. Most New Zealanders have been asked not to go anywhere.

The total active cases in the outbreak this time stood at 782, 765 of whom were in Auckland and 17 in Wellington, the country's capital.

New Zealand, with a population of five million, has reported 3,392 confirmed cases and 27 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.