She said: “We’d better start cautiously from a high place, and then withdraw as soon as we feel comfortable, rather than starting from a low place and staying at that stage (locked) for a longer period of time.”
“You only need to look at Australia to see another option.”
The original plan was for New Zealand to be blocked for three days starting on Tuesday night, and Auckland and the nearby Coromandel area would face a one-week restriction.
Officials said that one of the main factors behind the strong reaction was that the Auckland case had no obvious connection to border or administrative isolation.
Health Director-General Ashley Bloomfield (Ashley Bloomfield) said: “The case was found in Oakland, but it is a national problem.”
“Because we can’t connect it to the border, there may be other cases in Auckland and other transmission chains (outside the city).”
