New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has postponed the country’s upcoming elections by four weeks. That decision was taken because of a new outbreak of the coronavirus in the country.
Elections are now scheduled for October 17. They were initially planned to be held on September 19.
“This decision gives all parties the next nine weeks to campaign and gives the electoral commission enough time to ensure that an election can take place,” Ardern explained.
In New Zealand, no new infections were detected for a long time, but dozens of new virus cases have been discovered in the past week.
Auckland, with 1.5 million inhabitants, the largest city in the country, has recently been locked down.
Nine new cases of the coronavirus were registered in the country on Monday. As a result, the number of active infections has risen to 78.
A total of 1,280 people have contracted the virus. 22 people have died from its effects. New Zealand was virus-free for 102 days until the virus resurfaced this month.