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Coronavirus: New Zealand faces growing calls for ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown
- The nation of 5 million was largely virus-free until mid-August, when it was hit by an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant
- Health ministry data shows cases have been concentrated among people from the indigenous Maori community, who are also the least likely to be vaccinated
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New Zealand’s government is facing growing calls from public health experts to enact a short, sharp “circuit breaker” lockdown, a week after it shifted away from its much-vaunted coronavirus elimination strategy.
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The nation of 5 million was largely virus-free until mid-August, when an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant centred on the largest city of Auckland began, leading to 1,855 new cases, of which 665 were active in the community as of Saturday.
Just 62 per cent of the eligible population had been fully vaccinated as of Friday, with authorities hitting a speed bump in efforts to immunise 90 per cent of people aged 12 and older.
Data from the health ministry shows the outbreak has been concentrated among people from the indigenous Maori community, who are not only over-represented in new daily cases but are also least likely to get a vaccine.
A move back to Alert Level 4 is the best, and probably only, chance of reversing these highly concerning trends
On Saturday, New Zealand recorded an additional 41 local infections, raising the total caseload to 4,579. The government has said the daily numbers are likely to double over the next few weeks.
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