New Zealand on Sunday reported 13 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus for the last 24 hours, as the country’s first outbreak in months continued to grow.
All but one of the new cases were from community transmission and appeared to be linked to a cluster in Auckland where the most recent outbreak started, said Ashley Bloomfield, the New Zealand director general of health. The 13th was a traveller who returned from abroad and was in managed quarantine.
Related: New Zealand confirms two new cases ending Covid-19 free run
It brings the number of active cases in New Zealand to 69. Since the start of the year the country had recorded 1,271 cases, Bloomfield said.
New Zealand is battling its second outbreak of infections and a lockdown is in place over Auckland.
Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister, is set to decide by Monday whether a general election will go ahead on 19 September, with most analysts expecting her to resist opposition calls for a delay. Parliament is due to be dissolved on Monday.
Having kept New Zealand clear of infections for 102 days straight before the flare-up, Ardern has won praise for her decisive response to the pandemic and opinion polls have shown her Labour party in a winning position.
Pollsters have been unable to survey voters since the latest outbreak, but analysts expected Ardern to decide to go ahead with the election next month.
Forced to cancel campaign events due to restrictions on movement and crowds due to the health scare, the opposition has accused Ardern of using the pandemic to shore up support as she appears on television nearly every day to reassure New Zealanders.
The Guardian/ Reuters
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Source: Vietnam Insider