New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has had to postpone her wedding due to new restrictions imposed on the Covid-19 virus.
Ms Ardern said stricter rules were needed after nine cases of the Omicron variant were discovered in one family who flew to Auckland for a wedding earlier this month.
The Prime Minister was planning to marry next weekend, but the celebration was postponed.
«I just joined many other New Zealanders who have gone through such an experience as a result of the pandemic and for anyone who has fallen into this scenario, I am so sorry,» she said.
The country’s so-called «red preparation» for the epidemic response includes strict measures such as the wearing of masks and restrictions on gatherings, and the restrictions will come into effect on Monday.
Ms Ardern stressed that «red is not closed», noting that businesses can remain open and people can still visit family and friends and move freely around the country.
«Our plan for managing Omicron cases in the early stage remains the same as Delta, where we will rapidly test and trace contact and isolate cases and contacts in order to slow the spread,» the prime minister told reporters in Wellington on Sunday.
New Zealand was among the few remaining countries to avoid any outbreak of Omicron, but Ms Ardern acknowledged last week that an outbreak was inevitable given the high transmissibility of the variant.
The country has managed to contain the spread of the delta variant, averaging about 20 new cases each day. But it has seen an increasing number of people arriving in the country and entering mandatory quarantine with Omicron.
This has put pressure on the quarantine system and prompted the government to restrict access for returning citizens while deciding what to do about reopening its borders, angering many people who want to return to New Zealand.
About 93% of New Zealanders aged 12 or older were fully vaccinated and 52% had a booster shot. The country has just started vaccinating children between the ages of 5 and 11.
Ardern said the family from the Nelson-Marlborough area attended a wedding and other events while in Auckland, and it was estimated that they were in contact with «more than 100 people at these events.»
«This means that Omicron is now being traded in Auckland and possibly the Nelson Marlborough area if not elsewhere,» she added.
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