Delta outbreak exposes low vaccination rate in New Zealand

WELLINGTON • New Zealand's coronavirus cases jumped yesterday, as questions grew about the government's response to the pandemic given the country's slowest vaccination rate among developed economies and the economic pressures of prolonged isolation.

Eleven new cases were reported yesterday, taking the total to 21 in the latest outbreak that ended the country's six-month, virus-free run.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the virus has not been in the community for long as the authorities had linked its origin to a returnee from Sydney on Aug 7. "This is a significant development. It means now we can be fairly certain how and when the virus entered the country," Ms Ardern told a news conference. "And the period in which cases were in the community was relatively short."

New Zealanders had been living without curbs until Ms Ardern ordered a snap 3-day nationwide lockdown on Tuesday after a case was found in the largest city Auckland. It was the country's first case since February.

Ms Ardern, who shut the country's borders in March last year, had announced plans for a gradual reopening this month following pressure from businesses and public sectors facing worker shortages that policymakers fear will fuel inflation.

The new cases may delay those plans and are causing concern in the nation, which has struggled to get its population vaccinated.

Only about 23 per cent of its 5 million people have been fully vaccinated, the lowest rate among the 38 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

"It's no longer clear Jacinda Ardern's strategy is the right one," read one opinion piece in the New Zealand Herald.

Opposition National Party leader Judith Collins has labelled the vaccination roll-out as a failure.

Experts also said vaccinating everyone was the way to return to some normalcy.

Apart from some anti-lockdown protests, New Zealanders have mostly followed rules and stayed at home. The government warned that not doing so will result in chaos, as seen in neighbouring Australia.

"We have seen the dire consequences of taking too long to act in other countries, not least our neighbours," Ms Ardern said.

REUTERS