New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that she has canceled her own wedding as part of the new Covid restrictions announced.
The presence of the Omicron variant in the country caused new measures to be taken across the country.
While indoor activities were limited to the participation of 100 people who had been vaccinated, it was also obligatory to wear masks in stores and public transport.
According to the updated data released yesterday, 71 new cases were recorded in the country in the last 24 hours. While a total of 15,104 coronavirus cases have been reported across the country to date, 52 people have died due to the virus.
Prime Minister Ardern told reporters on Sunday that her wedding with television presenter Clarke Gayford was canceled to prevent the spread of the virus.
Ardern said, “I am no different from anyone, thousands of people felt the devastating effect of the pandemic, sometimes they could not be together with the people they love,” said Ardern, adding that this was much more than the sadness he had experienced so far.
The new measures taken following the announcement of the nine Omicron cases will begin to be implemented as of midnight on Sunday.
A family attending a wedding in Auckland tested positive for coronavirus after returning to their home in South Island. In addition, a flight attendant was also infected with the virus. Authorities expect this event to increase the rate of spread of the virus.
According to the New Zealand Herald, the new measures include gyms and weddings. The capacity of these events was limited to 100 vaccinated people or 25 unvaccinated people.
All students aged 4 and over will also be required to wear masks at schools.
The country became one of the first to close its borders after the outbreak began. With the strict rules he received, he was able to keep the death toll at the lowest.
But after the Delta variant, Prime Minister Ardern started to pursue a higher vaccination policy in the country.
94 percent of the country’s population over the age of 12 are fully vaccinated; 56 percent of them are thought to have the reminder dose vaccines.