New Zealand's largest city enters fresh Covid-19 lockdown

New Zealand’s largest city is to go back into lockdown, after the country’s prime minister reported four cases of community transmission of Covid-19 on Tuesday evening local time.

The South Pacific nation had gone 102 days without any locally-caught cases of the coronavirus, having closed its borders to all but citizens and residents with a supervised quarantine, and undergoing one of the strictest lockdowns globally between March and April.

Jacinda Ardern told media that four cases of Covid-19 had been diagnosed in the same family, and were not able to be traced back to any overseas arrivals, or anyone who works in a high-risk industry in contact with travellers.

The move to a so-called ‘level 3’ lockdown for the entire Auckland region means its 1.6 million residents will be required to stay home unless their work is deemed essential, with schools also closing, as well as bars, restaurants and other public facilities.

Pharmacies and grocery stores will be the only retailers permitted to open their doors, with strict social distancing measures in place and face masks required.

“We're asking people in Auckland to stay home to stop the spread," the prime minister said.

“Act as if you have Covid, and as though people around you have Covid.”

The lockdown in Auckland will last for three days at this stage, as health officials work to determine if there is any further community spread.

In the rest of New Zealand, the Covid-19 alert level was now at ‘2’, meaning gatherings would be limited to 100 people, and more minor social distancing measures would be required.

The country’s director-general of health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, also advised against visits to aged care facilities, given the vulnerability of its residents.

A care home in the South Island city of Christchurch was placed into lockdown earlier on Tuesday, after a number of residents displayed symptoms of a respiratory illness.

Those residents have been tested, with the facility currently awaiting the results, although a spokesman for the home’s operator said there was nothing at this stage to suggest it was anything more than the winter flu.