Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

New Zealand PM Cancels Wedding Plans Due to Omicron Restrictions


Sun 23 Jan 2022 | 08:33 AM
Omnia Ahmed

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern cancelled her wedding, on Sunday, after announcing new restrictions amid the omicron wave.

Ardern told reporters that her wedding to television host Clarke Gayford would not be going ahead.

"I am no different to, dare I say it, thousands of other New Zealanders who have had much more devastating impacts felt by the pandemic, the most gutting of which is the inability to be with a loved one sometimes when they are gravely ill," she said.

"That will far, far outstrip any sadness I experience," the prime minister added.

Officials revealed that the new restrictions come into force at midnight on Sunday local time (11:00 GMT). The announcement came after a cluster of nine Omicron cases were confirmed.

Media outlets reported that a family who had attended a wedding in Auckland tested positive after returning home to the South Island.

Therefore, New Zealand is set to be placed under the highest level of Covid restrictions after an outbreak of the Omicron variant.

In this sense, the restrictions include a cap of 100 vaccinated people at events and mask-wearing in shops and on public transport.

The country has recorded 15,104 Covid cases and 52 deaths.