Coronavirus Australia: New Zealand plunged into three-day lockdown over one case

New Zealand has been plunged into a snap lockdown after a mystery case of Covid-19  was recorded in Auckland.

The entire country will enter a three day level four lockdown from 11.59pm Tuesday, which will be extended to a week in Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula.

A 58-year-old Auckland man, who is unvaccinated, tested positive on Tuesday and is believed to have been infectious for the last five days. He had travelled with his wife to Coromandel on the weekend.

The case is being treated as the highly contagious Delta strain until genome testing results come back on Wednesday. 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern urged the country to follow the rules ‘to the letter’ and referred to Australia’s difficulty in controlling the spread of the virus when she addressed the nation on Tuesday night.

‘Delta has been called a game changer and it is, it means that we again need to go hard and early to stop the spread,’ she said. 

‘We’ve seen elsewhere what can happen if we fail to get on top of it. We only get one chance.’

‘We have made the decision on the basis that it is better to start high and go down levels rather than to go low, not contain the virus and see it move quickly.’ 

‘We’ve seen the dire consequences of taking too long to act in other countries, not at least our neighbours.’ 

‘I’m asking the team of five million to unite once more to defeat what is likely the more transmissible and deadly variant of the virus.

‘Remember to always act like you have Covid-19, stay clear of others; don’t put them in harm’s way in the same way you would expect that they don’t put you in harm’s way.’

Under the highest level four restrictions, Kiwis can only leave their homes for exercise in their neighbourhood, getting groceries, medical care or getting a test.

They must wear a mask whenever they leave the house and keep a two metre distance from those other than household members. 

‘The simplest thing New Zealanders can do to reduce the spread of virus is to stay at home. Beating Delta means lifting our game,’ Ms Ardern said.

All schools and non-essential businesses such as supermarkets, pharmacies and petrol stations will shut down for the duration of lockdown, while Covid-19 vaccinations have been suspended for the next 48 hours.

The announcement sparked chaos in supermarkets the country as Kiwis scrambled to the shops to stock up on essentials. 

Kiwis travelling in other party of the country have been given 48 hours to return home. 

Health officials are now scrambling to identify how the man from Auckland’s north shore became infected, which at this stage shows there is no immediate link to any high-risk settings. 

He was unvaccinated but was in the process of booking an appointment to get the jab.

‘A link between the case and the border or managed isolation is yet to be established,’ the Ministry of Health said.

‘While we collect more specific information all New Zealanders are reminded of the basic public health measures of mask wearing and hand washing.’

Ten Auckland exposure sites have been listed with another 13 in Coromandel, which is 180 kilometres away.

The new case is the first New Zealand has recorded since February.

University of Auckland COVID-19 modeller Professor Shaun Hendy urged  Aucklanders to take precautions and assume they have been exposed to the virus.

‘If there is a link to the border, then there is a chance we’ve caught this outbreak at an early stage. If not, then there will be more cases out there. In either case we should be prepared for an Alert Level change in Auckland, if not other parts of the country,’ Hendy tweeted.

New Zealand has reported just 26 deaths and 2,570 cases of Covd-19 since the pandemic began in early 2020. 

Ms Ardern announced an eight week suspension of New Zealand’s travel bubble with the entirety of Australia on July 23, after the NSW outbreak began to spread to other states.

She will announce a further update on Wednesday afternoon.