Coronavirus: NZ’s PM Jacinda Ardern cancels wedding over Omicron; Samoa in snap lockdown
- Leader’s wedding called off as New Zealand imposes restrictions to slow community spread of Covid-19 variant
- Elsewhere, Samoa calls 48-hour lockdown after 15 people test positive for Covid-19, while South Korea records second-highest Covid count ahead of holiday
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was forced to call off her own wedding on Sunday as she tightened Covid-19 restrictions in the face of an outbreak of the Omicron variant.
“My wedding will not be going ahead,” she confirmed after detailing new restrictions; including a limit of 100 fully vaccinated people at events.
“I just joined many other New Zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic, and to anyone who is caught up in that scenario I am so sorry.”
I’m no different to thousands of other New Zealanders who have had much more devastating impacts felt by the pandemic
The emergence of nine cases of Omicron in a family who travelled between cities to attend a wedding, and the infection of a flight attendant on one aircraft they flew on, forced New Zealand to impose its “red setting” restrictions from midnight Sunday.
Omicron is far more transmissible than the earlier Delta variant but is less likely to make people seriously ill.
In addition to limiting crowd numbers, face coverings are now mandatory on public transport and in shops.
Ardern and long-time partner Clarke Gayford have never announced their wedding date, but it was believed to be scheduled for some time in the next few weeks.
The new restrictions are set to remain in place until at least the end of next month.
“Such is life,” Ardern said when asked how she felt about setting regulations which ended her planned nuptials.
“I’m no different to 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 outstrip any sadness I experience.”
New Zealand has detected 15,104 Covid-19 cases and recorded 52 deaths since the pandemic began.
Tough border restrictions and snap lockdowns have been in place for much of the last two years.
About 94 per cent of New Zealand’s population over the age of 12 is fully vaccinated and about 56 per cent of those eligible have had booster shots.
02:46
WHO says new vaccine to combat Omicron likely needed amid fears variant could infect half of Europe
Samoa goes into lockdown after 15 Australians test positive
The prime minister of Samoa has placed the small Pacific nation into a 48-hour lockdown after 15 passengers on a flight from Australia tested positive for Covid-19.
The infected passengers were among 73 who arrived from Brisbane on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa also said Saturday the government may cancel further flights from Australia. A scheduled flight from New Zealand on Saturday has already been postponed, according to Radio New Zealand.
All the passengers were reportedly fully vaccinated and had tested negative for Covid-19 before departure.
The governor of neighbouring American Samoa, Lemanu Palepoi Sialega “Peleti” Mauga, issued a statement offering words of solidarity to Samoa and support for its prime minister. He also announced the cancellation of flights between the territory and Samoa for one week.
Samoa, population 200,000, has reported 18 active cases.
American Samoa also has 18 cases, all of them travellers from Hawaii on Hawaiian Airlines flights from Honolulu. The latest group of seven who tested positive arrived Jan 6.
There is no lockdown in American Samoa and flights between Honolulu and Pago Pago continue on limited basis.
Japan to expand quasi-emergency areas
The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to place more prefectures under a Covid-19 quasi-state of emergency as the number of cases continues surging, government sources said Sunday.
The decision, likely to be formalised Tuesday, may see 32 of the nation’s 47 prefectures under restrictions, such as shortened hours at restaurants and bars. While the measures are already in place in 16 prefectures including Tokyo, 16 more prefectures, including Hokkaido, Kyoto and Osaka, have requested or plan to request the inclusion of their regions.
On Sunday, Japan’s confirmed daily coronavirus cases reached more than 50,000, the second largest on record after some 54,500 logged on Saturday.
In Tokyo, the number of people recuperating at home after being infected with the virus rose to 26,556, a record high. Newly confirmed daily cases came to 9,468, down from Saturday’s all-time high of more than 11,000 but still the largest for any Sunday.
Tokyo and 12 other prefectures were added to regions subject to the quasi-emergency measures on Friday after three prefectures – Hiroshima, Yamaguchi and Okinawa – were placed under the measures from January 9 following a spike in infections that local officials linked to nearby US military bases.
The restrictions were scheduled to last until the end of this month in the three prefectures, but the government is considering extending the period, the sources said.
The Covid-19 restrictions are slated to be in place until February 13 in Tokyo and the 12 prefectures, including Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Aichi, Nagasaki and Kumamoto.
Japan has seen rapid increases in the number of virus cases since the country confirmed its first case of the Omicron variant on November 30. The number of cases increased 100 times in three weeks since the start of this year, rising to 54,576 cases on Saturday from 534 logged on January 1.
01:44
South Korea becomes first Asian country to use Pfizer pill to fight Covid-19
South Korea sees second-highest Covid count ahead of holiday
South Korea posted its second-highest daily number of coronavirus cases on Sunday, despite extended Covid-19 curbs and a high vaccination rate, raising concerns of further spread during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.
The country recorded 7,630 new cases on Saturday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said, above the 7,009 cases reported a day earlier and near the mid-December record of 7,848 logged.
South Korea in mid-January extended tougher social distancing rules for three weeks, including a 9pm curfew for restaurants, cafes and bars, and limits on private gatherings, ahead of the holiday that starts on Saturday.
Tens of millions of Koreans across the country typically travel during Lunar New Year for family gatherings during one of the country’s main holidays.
South Korea has recorded 733,902 Covid infections and 6,540 deaths, KDCA data showed, although nearly 95 per cent of adults have been fully vaccinated and more than half having received a booster shot.
Two Australian states to test school students twice weekly
Australia reported 58 deaths from Covid-19 on Sunday, as the two most populous states, New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, said students would be tested twice weekly for the Omicron variant when classes resume next week.
NSW reported 34 deaths of patients with Covid-19, while Victoria state saw 14 deaths, and Queensland reported 10 deaths.
Health officials said they believed an Omicron outbreak had peaked in NSW and Victoria, which reported 20,324 and 13,091 new cases respectively on Sunday.
Australian schools return after a summer holiday break in a week.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said parents will be asked to use rapid antigen tests twice a week to check their children for Covid-19, and report any positive result to the school and government.
Millions of the test kits are being distributed to 3,000 schools this week, and students need to be tested before attending the first day of classes, he told reporters in Sydney.
Teachers and high school students will be required to wear masks.
Victoria state has also recommended twice weekly testing of students under its return to school plan.
School staff in NSW and Victoria must be vaccinated for Covid-19, and teachers in Victoria have a deadline of the end of February to receive a booster shot, Victorian health officials said.
Reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, Kyodo
