BREAKING: New Zealand's prime minister has delayed national elections by four weeks as the country deals with a new coronavirus outbreak in its largest city, Auckland. The election scheduled for Sept. 19 will now be held Oct. 17.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reacts during a press conference in Wellington, New Zealand, Friday, Aug. 14, 2020. Ardern announced that the three-day lockdown in Auckland would be extended by another 12 days at level 3, the rest of New Zealand will stay at level 2 restrictions as health authorities investigate the source of the first domestic coronavirus outbreak in more than three months.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday chose to delay New Zealand’s national elections by four weeks as the country deals with a new coronavirus outbreak in its largest city, Auckland. Opposition parties had been requesting a delay after a virus outbreak in Auckland last week prompted the government to put the city into a two-week lockdown and halted election campaigning.Before the latest outbreak, New Zealand had gone 102 days without any known community transmission of the virus, and life had returned to normal for most people, who were going to restaurants, sports stadiums and schools without fear of getting infected.
Ardern said in making her decision, she had first called the leaders of all the political parties represented in the parliament to get their views.
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