[ad_1]
A member of the public receives a Pfizer vaccine at a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination clinic in Otara during a one-day vaccination campaign, aimed at dramatically increasing the percentage of people vaccinated in the country, in Auckland, New Zealand, October 16, 2021. REUTERS / Simon Watts
WELLINGTON, Nov. 1 (Reuters) – New Zealand will extend coronavirus restrictions in its largest city of Auckland by a week, but will ease some after that, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on another day on Monday record new infections.
As New Zealand battles the spread of the infectious Delta variant of COVID-19, it has agreed to a November 10 reopening date for retail stores and institutions such as libraries and museums, said Ardern at a press conference.
“Due to the high vaccination rates in Auckland, we can move forward with greater confidence,” Ardern said.
“These decisions are carefully balanced and allow us to release some of the pressure and fatigue that exists in Auckland.”
The city’s limit on the size of outdoor gatherings has been increased to 25 people.
New Zealand won global praise last year for a response that eradicated the coronavirus, but proved unable to reverse the current outbreak, forcing it to adopt a strategy of living with the virus instead of the previous elimination goal.
Still, it is doing much better than many other countries, with severe brakes that have kept COVID-19 infections at around 6,000 and a death toll of just 28.
Daily cases have reached record highs in recent days, with 162 on Monday. Of these, 53 patients were hospitalized, including four in intensive care. Cases are expected to continue to rise in a model of the outbreak released to the media.
But Ardern said high vaccination rates offered protection to reduce hospital admissions.
“Previously, we were working hard to eliminate all cases. While Delta has forced us to change our approach, vaccines ensure that we have the same goal,” she added.
More than 75% of New Zealand, or around 3.1 million people, are now fully vaccinated, while 88% have received a dose.
However, the government said an increasing number of new cases are among the indigenous Maori community, where the vaccination rate is lower.
Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Clarence Fernandez
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
|
Sources 2/ https://www.reuters.com/world/new-zealand-keeps-pandemic-curbs-another-week-auckland-2021-11-01/ The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
[ad_2]