New Zealand
Jacinda Ardern infected with coronavirus
A quick test on Jacinda Ardern was “clearly positive”. Photo: Mark Mitchell/Pool New Zealand Herald/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The omicron variant also leads to numerous corona infections in New Zealand. Now New Zealand’s Prime Minister Ardern has to go into isolation.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has tested positive for the corona virus. She had been in isolation since May 8 after her partner Clarke Gayford was infected, and on Saturday a quick test was “clearly positive”, according to a government statement.
The 41-year-old has been showing symptoms since Friday and had a weakly positive quick test result on Friday evening. She must now isolate at home until May 21 under New Zealand’s Covid-19 rules. A trip to the USA planned for the end of May was not initially canceled.
New Zealand, with its five million inhabitants, has long been considered a model country in the fight against the corona virus. The island state had largely isolated itself from the outside world in March 2020 and at times pursued a so-called zero-Covid strategy. However, the country has now recorded more than a million cases due to the highly contagious omicron variant.
Ardern will now miss a crucial week for her government in Parliament, which is due to present its zero-carbon emissions plan on Monday and publish the budget on Thursday. “This week is a milestone for the government and I regret not being able to be there,” Ardern said in a statement.