Coronavirus outbreak could force postponement of NZ elections: PM

AUCKLAND AFP Aug12, 2020- New Zealand locked down nursing homes nationwide Wednesday after a 102-day streak without the coronavirus ended, as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the outbreak could force her to postpone next month’s general election.   

Ardern said authorities were scrambling to trace anyone who had been in contact with four Auckland residents who tested positive Tuesday, ending the dream run in which the virus had been contained at New Zealand’s borders.   A three-day stay-at-home order for Auckland, New Zealand’s biggest city with a population of 1.5 million, was announced on Tuesday night and went into force at lunchtime on Wednesday.   Police in facemasks manned roadblocks on major roads in Auckland to enforce the new measures.   Ardern said health officials were also locking down aged care homes across the country because they could act as transmission hotspots.