Coronavirus Causes New Zealand to Lockdown
New Zealand is now preparing to enter a nationwide lockdown that is expected to be a month-long, due to the increase in the number of people infected with Coronavirus. During this period, the whole country has been requested to stay indoors apart from the people that work in essential services.
On Monday,23 March, the nation was told they have two days to prepare for businesses, schools, and community services to switch off their lights in hopes of stopping the spread of Coronavirus in the country. This decision came after a couple of cases in NZ increased to more than a hundred people infected. Read on below and find out more about the NZ lockdown.
Coronavirus – Details on the NZ Lockdown
The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, reported to the nation that she is certainly not willing to put the citizens’ lives in danger. She further stated how the worst-case scenario is intolerable and would mean the biggest loss of Kiwis in their history, and that is just a chance that she is not willing to take.
The Prime Minister further said that the nation would be immediately moving to level-three measures, then four and finally the highest on Wednesday from 23:59. The government instructed everyone to go home and has assured all its citizens that they will do their best to protect the nation. The lockdown will be for a month after the Prime Minister stated that it was now recognized that local transmission is what was currently happening in New Zealand.
If it continues, the number of people infected would be doubling every five days. This would then eventually result in thousands of New Zealanders dying, hence they decided to lock down the country now, while they still have it all under control.
She reported to the media that the Coronavirus has been moving a fast pace and it is better for the country to take action now, or risk the widespread of the virus like how it has in most nations.
Overview
Many people seemed to be shocked by this decision on social media, but most, if not all, were applauding her leadership skills. Simon Bridges, the opposition leader, health experts, and many other prominent scientists had been requesting for a national shutdown from last week.
However, still, they applauded the government for taking this action quickly – way ahead of many other European nations that are now faced with hundreds of deaths such as the United Kingdom and Italy.