New Zealand's biggest city goes into first COVID-19 lockdown since October

AUCKLAND –New Zealand is imposing first lockdown restrictions since October on its most populous city of Auckland for three days after three COVID-19 community cases were reported, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Sunday.

The three cases, confirmed earlier in the day by the health ministry, are from the same household in South Auckland. All the patients are currently in quarantine.

"As of 11:59 p.m. tonight, Sunday February 14, Auckland will move to [Alert] Level 3 for a period of three days until midnight on Wednesday. The rest of New Zealand will move to Level 2 for the same period of time," Ardern told reporters, adding that the decision will be reviewed on a 24-hour basis.

PM Ardern said the country was going "hard and early" after the cases were identified.

The measures in Auckland require its 1.7m residents to stay at home except for essential shopping and work. Schools and non-essential shops will close.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the country has confirmed a total of 2,330 cases, including 2,258 recoveries and 25 fatalities. There are currently 47 active cases in New Zealand, a population of five million.