New Zealand on Sunday recorded three new cases of COVID-19 in the community, and they’re all from the same family. The outbreak marks the first new cases outside of quarantine in almost three weeks.
A couple and their daughter in Auckland all tested positive for the virus over the weekend, and are now safely in a quarantine facility. The mum works for a airline catering company at Auckland’s airport, which may be how she became infected.
In what is perhaps the most Kiwi series of events ever, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had to skip a gay pride parade event in Auckland called the Big Gay Out so that she could get back to the capital, Wellington, and help sort things out.
“Our system has swung into action,” New Zealand’s COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told reporters on Sunday afternoon.
“We are gathering all of the facts as quickly as we can. And the system that’s served us so well in the past is really gearing up to do so again.”
Lucilky for Kiwis, no restrictions have been reintroduced just yet.
“We will collect more information before we would make any such decision,” Hipkins added.
The only difference is that the high school that the child attended will close as a precaution. Air New Zealand will also halt its in-flight meals for the time being.
However, there’s one big reason why this tiny outbreak isn’t something to lose sleep over.
On Friday, Ardern (quite conveniently) announced that vaccinations are just a week away, with the rollout beginning on February 20.
Border workers and their families, including the family infected in this outbreak, will be first in line to receive it.
