Sun 23 January 2022:
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s wedding has been postponed as the country implements new restrictions to curb the spread of the Omicron coronavirus type in the population.
The “red setting” of the country’s pandemic response includes more stringent measures including mask use and gathering restrictions, which will take effect on Monday.
The prime minister was rumored to be getting married soon to her longtime partner, fishing show host Clarke Gayford.
A reminder Jacinda Ardern & ministers took a pay cut in solidarity with those hit by Covid. Today the PM cancelled her wedding in another act of solidarity.
Contrast this with the rule-breaking UK PM Boris Johnston.
Clear, decisive and empathetic leadership saves lives. pic.twitter.com/vB7FeBSStK
— Donna Miles دانا مایلز (@UnPressed) January 23, 2022
“I just join many other New Zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic and to anyone who’s caught up in that scenario, I am so sorry,” she said.
“My wedding will not be going ahead,” she added.
The number of individuals allowed in indoor hospitality establishments such as pubs and restaurants, as well as events such as weddings, will be limited to 100. If venues do not use vaccination passes, the limit is reduced to 25.
“Red is not lockdown,” Ardern emphasized, emphasizing that businesses may continue to operate and that people can visit family and friends and travel freely across the nation.
“Our plan for managing Omicron cases in the early stage remains the same as Delta, where we will rapidly test, contact trace and isolate cases and contacts in order to slow the spread,” Ardern told reporters in Wellington on Sunday.
The family from the Nelson-Marlborough region attended a wedding and other events while in Auckland, with estimates suggesting they came into contact with “well over 100 people at these events”, Ardern said.
“That means that Omicron is now circulating in Auckland and possibly the Nelson-Marlborough region if not elsewhere,” she added.
Asked by reporters how she felt about the postponement of her wedding, Ardern replied: “Such is life.”
New Zealand has been one of the few countries to keep free of Omicron outbreaks, but Ardern admitted last week that an epidemic was unavoidable due to the variant’s high transmissibility.
Approximately 93 percent of New Zealanders aged 12 and up have been completely vaccinated, with 52 percent having received a booster dose. The country has only recently began vaccinating youngsters from 5 to 11 years old.
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