New Zealand sets record for new COVID-19 cases

New Zealand on Tuesday recorded a record number of coronavirus cases since the start of the epidemic alternate delta Forcing the archipelago to abandon the “zero COVID” strategy.

Health authorities announced 94 new cases, a number exceeding the previous record of 89 infections recorded in April 2020, during the first wave of COVID-19.

The number of infections has not stopped increasing since the highly contagious delta variant appeared in the country in mid-August.

The epidemiological focus, located in Auckland, has forced Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to abandon her “zero COVID” strategy in favor of ramping up the vaccination campaign.

The center-left leader is due to unveil a plan on Friday to ease restrictions once vaccination targets are reached.

About two-thirds of the population of vaccination age was vaccinated.

“We know that vaccination is already making a huge difference to the epidemic in Auckland, and so are the people who are following the procedures,” Ardern told reporters.

Until the arrival of the Delta variable, the archipelago was shielded from epidemic, particularly due to strict border measures and an extensive tracking policy, which in particular allowed New Zealand to benefit from an almost normal life.

This policy has paid off, since the country has recorded, since the beginning of the epidemic, only 28 deaths out of a population of five million.

Ms Ardern acknowledged that the Delta variant had “changed the rules of the game” because the speed at which it spreads does not allow contact states to be traced, and it is impossible to eradicate them.

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