New Zealand PM Defends Virus Elimination Policy

A Delta case emerged in Auckland last week, ending a six-month run without local transmission in New Zealand, one of the world's last Covid-free zones.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern defended her "Covid zero" elimination strategy Thursday amid fears an outbreak of the highly transmissible Delta variant has rendered the previously successful policy ineffective. A Delta case emerged in Auckland last week, ending a six-month run without local transmission in New Zealand, one of the world's last Covid-free zones. That infection has since ballooned into the largest cluster the country has recorded throughout the entire pandemic, with 277 cases. Ardern said she believed even the Delta strain could again be stamped out in the community and health experts were advising her to stick with the elimination approach.