Auckland Still Under Lockdown, New Zealand Government Boosts COVID-19 Vaccination

Illustration of the quiet COVID-19 lockdown in New Zealand. (Wikimedia Commons/Sarahlibrarina)

JAKARTA - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called on New Zealanders to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible, as it is the only way to beat the spread of the Coronavirus, restrictions can be lifted in Auckland.

New Zealand recorded 15 new infections Tuesday, down from Monday's figure of 33, but some 1.7 million people will remain in lockdown in Auckland until next week, as the government struggles to contain a cluster of the highly contagious Delta variant.

"A vaccine is the best tool we have in our toolbox and our ticket to greater freedom", Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a news conference.

"The more people who get vaccinated, the fewer restrictions you have to have", he continued regarding the benefits of getting a COVID-19 vaccination.

Auckland's lockdown has closed schools, offices, and public places, with people allowed to leave their homes only to exercise or buy essentials. Across the country, lockdowns were lifted three weeks ago.

New Zealand was one of the countries that managed to contain the spread of the Coronavirus for months, before an outbreak of the Delta variant forced a swift lockdown on August 17. So far, New Zealand has recorded a total of 970 infections, with the majority in Auckland.

The lockdowns and closures of international borders since March 2020 have been credited with containing COVID-19. However, slow vaccination efforts have sparked criticism for Ardern. To date, only around 34 percent of New Zealand's total population of 5.1 million people have received a complete COVID-19 vaccination.

To scale up the program, New Zealand has purchased doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine from Spain and Denmark.

"Nothing is holding us back in Auckland in terms of vaccines. There is the capacity to administer 220,000 doses of vaccine in the region this week", said PM Ardern, adding an upgrade to the vaccination program would start this week.