New Zealand keeps Auckland in strict lockdown to beat Delta

By: Sienna Bouchaaya, Staff reporter, The Pawprint

On Monday, New Zealand prolonged a stringent lockdown in its largest city, mandating 1.7 million people in Auckland to stay indoors for at least another week in order to contain tiny outbreaks of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus.

After that, Auckland will drop from level 4 to level 3, which implies that while some limitations will be lifted, offices, schools, and public venues would remain closed.

 Ardern has been criticised for slow vaccination since the country battled the Delta outbreak. Only around 34% of its 5.1 million population has been fully vaccinated.