New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern Postpones Wedding Amid New Restrictions Due To Omicron
The announcement was made on Sunday by Ardern who said that the country is amplifying the restrictions to curb the community spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant.
New Delhi: As the Omicron variant leads the third covid-19 wave across the world, New Zealand, which was dealing with the pandemic in a rather efficient manner is now affected by the virus spread. As a consequence, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had to postpone her wedding to minimize the spread of Omicron in the country.
The announcement was made on Sunday by Ardern who said that the country is amplifying the restrictions to curb the community spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant. News agency Reuters quoted PM Ardern as saying, “My wedding will not be going ahead.”
“I just join many other New Zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic and to anyone who’s caught up in that scenario, I am so sorry,” she added as reported by Aljazeera.
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern cancels her wedding amid new Omicron restrictions: Reuters pic.twitter.com/Zrn1ngHQOW
— ANI (@ANI) January 23, 2022
While she emphasised that the ‘Red setting’ is not the lockdown, there are other restrictions like mask rules, and cap on guests attending any indoor event. The maximum limit for indoor hospitality settings like bars, restaurants, and events such as weddings will be reduced from 100 to 25 people if vaccine cards are not being used.
While the wedding date for PM Adern and long-term partner and fishing-show host Clarke Gayford was not public yet, the wedding was supposed to take place soon.
While talking about her wedding being canceled, PM Ardern said, “I am no different to, dare I say it, thousands of other New Zealanders who have had much more devastating impacts felt by the pandemic, the most gutting of which is the inability to be with a loved one sometimes when they are gravely ill. That will far, far outstrip any sadness I experience.”
The fear of a community spread of Omicron came after a family who traveled from North to South after attending a wedding tested positive for the virus. The family along with a flight attendant being tested positive clearly point towards the virus already being in circulation in Auckland, Ardern added.
New Zealand has been in isolation since March 2020 when the covid-19 infections started spreading across the world. By banning flights and mandating state-controlled quarantine for travelers, the country had managed to control the spread of covid-19 and the subsequent variant up to 20 cases a day. So far, these are the first few cases of Omicron reported in the country.
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