On Sunday, New Zealand’s Prime Minister (PM), Jacinda Ardern, announced a five-day lockdown in parts of Waikato, including Raglan and Hamilton city, after two new cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant surfaced in the region.
Ardern has said that the government will decide on Monday if 1.7 million residents of Auckland will continue to remain under lockdown.
Criticising the government for its poor handling of the pandemic, National Party leader Judith Collins said that spread of the coronavirus is indicative of the fact that the government’s strategy “isn’t working.” “The five-day level 3 lockdown of much of the Waikato following confirmation of cases in Raglan and Hamilton shows level 3 is not containing the virus, and the government has lost control of the situation in Auckland. Level 3 in Auckland and level 2 in the rest of New Zealand is costing more than $1 billion a week. But restrictions are not consistent with an elimination strategy,” Collins said.
Collins thus urged the government to adopt the ‘Opening Up’ plan announced by the Nationals last week to end lockdowns and resume international travel.
Similarly, ACT leader David Seymour decried the Ardern administration for being in “dangerous denial” and hit out at the vaccine rollout process, saying it is “too slow.”
“What’s extraordinary is that they appear to have never thought what they’d do if an inland city on a plain with many roads in and out got a case. What have they been doing for 18 months? The government needs to accept it’s failed and plot a new way forward,” he remarked.
Responding to the criticism, Ardern said her strategy was never to have zero cases but to stamp out the virus aggressively. “Strict lockdowns can end if 90% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated, contrasting with the current 46%,” she said.
On Monday, Ardern said that the Cabinet is considering easing restrictions in Auckland through a three-phased plan, saying, “Elimination was important because we didn’t have vaccines. Now we do, so we can begin to change the way we do things. We have more options, and there’s good cause for us to feel optimistic about the future, but we cannot rush.”
Back in August, Ardern imposed a “short and sharp” lockdown in Auckland to curb the spread of the virus. Auckland has recorded 1,328 cases until now. While the majority of the country has returned to normal life, Auckland remains under lockdown. The PM reaffirmed that her government is doing everything possible to confine the spread of the virus to Auckland.
New Zealand was among the few countries that brought COVID-19 cases to zero and stayed virus-free until August. The Delta variant, which is more contagious, has cast doubts on Ardern’s elimination strategy. Apart from this, slow vaccine rollout has contributed to continued lockdowns and the spread of COVID-19. So far, only 46% of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated, with 76% having received at least one dose.
New Zealand PM Ardern Faces Backlash Over Spread of COVID-19
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was criticised for poor handling of the COVID-19 pandemic after the virus jumped from Auckland to the Waikato region, forcing the area into snap lockdown.
October 4, 2021
SOURCE: THE JAPAN TIMES