New Zealanders must brace for additional Covid-19 cases from an outbreak that has plunged the previously virus-free country into a snap lockdown, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned after six more positive tests.
Ms Ardern confirmed New Zealand was dealing with the highly transmissible Delta variant linked to the outbreak in Australia that authorities have so far been unable to contain.
She said the rapid rise to a total of seven cases justified her decision to issue nationwide stay-at-home orders yesterday after the first case was identified. "It demonstrates, at this stage, Level 4 (hard lockdown) is the right place to be," Ms Ardern told TVNZ.