Coronavirus: Jacinda Ardern sued over virus lockdown
New Zealand PM reportedly facing legal action over lockdown, with two men arguing it has left them unlawfully detained.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is being sued over the country’s coronavirus lockdown, with two men arguing it has left them unlawfully detained.
The pair, who may not be named for legal reasons, made the claims at the Auckland High Court on Friday, local media platform Stuff reported. The hearing took place via a virtual meeting room, the court confirmed in an email to dpa.
The men have asked for a writ of habeas corpus, which seeks to rule an imprisonment unlawful and release the applicants.
Stuff reported one man told the court the United Nations Secretary-General should have been consulted before the lockdown restrictions were imposed. A model predicting 80,000 deaths in New Zealand from COVID-19 if the lockdown was not enacted was, in his opinion, an inaccurate “well-woven yarn of complete decimation,” Stuff reported.
The other man said Ardern made the lockdown decision on no real evidence, and was putting lives ahead of the economy.
Crown lawyer Austin Powell, who virtually represented Ardern in court, argued the lockdown did not amount to detention.
Justice Mary Peters reserved her decision but said it would be considered urgent.
Ms Ardern will announce on Monday whether New Zealand can begin to move out of lockdown.
The country of 4.8 million people has been in lockdown since March 25, and on Friday reported 1409 cases of Covid-19 and 11 deaths.
Two elderly New Zealanders died on Friday after contracting coronavirus, bringing the country’s overall death tally to 11.
A South Island woman in her 80s became the seventh person to die linked to the Rosewood rest home in Christchurch. A man in his 90s died at Waikato Hospital in Hamilton.
His case was linked to a cluster at Matamata, where a local pub held a St Patrick’s Day celebration on March 17.
“The fact we knew we would lose some New Zealanders to COVID-19 doesn’t lessen the shock or sadness when it happens,” Finance Minister Grant Robertson said. Another possible death linked to coronavirus, of an Invercargill man in his 70s who died at home, is being investigated by health officials. New Zealand recorded its lowest daily increase in a month on Friday, with just eight new cases.
The country’s overall case count is 1409.
DPA, AAP
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