Jacinda Ardern puts NZ on Covid code red alert, delays her own wedding
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will delay her marriage to Clarke Gayford, as she places New Zealand on its highest Covid-19 alert after recording 84 new cases.
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will delay her marriage to TV personality Clarke Gayford, as her government places New Zealand on its highest Covid-19 alert since the beginning of the pandemic.
After the country recorded 84 new infections, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said a slew of new Covid-19 restrictions would likely be in place for several weeks, including capping wedding events to 100 guests.
As a consequence of the new measure, Ms Ardern revealed to reporters on Sunday morning that she would be required to cancel her own wedding plans.
Ms Ardern and Mr Gayford were planning to get married this summer in Gisborne on the east coast of the North Island, but the Omicron outbreak has now scuppered their plans.
“My wedding won’t be going ahead but I just join many other New Zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic. And to anyone caught up in that scenario, I am so sorry,” she told reporters.
Asked how she felt about the cancellation, Ms Ardern replied: “Such is life. I’m no different to thousands of other New Zealanders who have had much more devastating impacts felt by the pandemic, the most gutting of which is the inability to be with a loved one sometimes when they are gravely ill. That will far outstrip any sadness I experience.”
New Zealand authorities will re-impose nationwide mask rules and limit gatherings from 11:59 PM, after a cluster of nine cases of the Omicron variant were detected in a family that travelled by plane from the North Island city of Auckland to a wedding in the South Island attended by 100 people.
Under the country’s traffic light system, New Zealand’s “red setting” will allow residents to do most things, including travel.
Hospitality businesses will remain open but be capped at 100 patrons, with customers to remain seated and workers encouraged to work from home.
Schools will also remain open with the government to look into ventilation options as thousands of students return to classrooms.
Ms Ardern said both the North and the South Islands would be under the red setting for “some weeks” as the country enters the start of a new wave.
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