The restoration process is expected to take a month — and until the issue is completely fixed, Internet users may encounter difficulties
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday said nationwide coronavirus curbs would be lifted, bar in the biggest city of Auckland, as the country gets on top of an outbreak of the Delta variant.
New Zealand had been largely virus-free, excluding a small cluster of cases in February, until an infected traveller from Australia seeded an outbreak that prompted Ardern to impose the national lockdown last week.
Ardern, who said restrictions would be eased outside of Auckland from Wednesday, is continuing to pursue an elimination strategy for the disease.
"We are within sight of elimination, but we can't drop the ball," Ardern said at a televised news conference. "Day by day we are making very good progress. What I dont want to do is move too quickly and then see a resurgence."
About 1.7 million people in greater Auckland, the epicentre of the outbreak, will remain in a full level 4 lockdown until at least Sept. 14.
The easing of the alert status to level 2 from level 3 in the rest of the country will allow the reopening of schools, offices and businesses. Regional travel will also be allowed.
Face masks will still be required inside most public venues, including shops and malls. Indoor hospitality venues will be limited to 50 patrons and outdoor venues to 100 people.
Daily new cases in the current outbreak have dropped from a peak of 85 on August 29 to 20 on Monday.
The current outbreak is responsible for 821 of the country's total of about 3,400 Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic. It has reported 27 deaths.
Ardern's tough lockdowns and international border closure helped rein in Covid-19, but the government now faces questions over a delayed vaccine rollout and rising costs in a country heavily reliant on an immigrant workforce.
Just about 30 per cent of the country's 5.1 million people has been fully vaccinated, the slowest pace among the wealthy nations of the OECD grouping.
The restoration process is expected to take a month — and until the issue is completely fixed, Internet users may encounter difficulties
In one area, powerful storm winds toppled a train from its tracks, the officials said
Temperatures will rise gradually throughout the day, the Met department said
Arabella was recently recognised with a gold medal at the first edition of the Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Environmental Awards
Post the Covid pandemic, the Emirates has emerged as one of the most popular spots for destination weddings
It bears the name 'Dubai' in Arabic and dates back to the 1960s
The quake occurred at 3.03am local time
Debutant and |Dubai amateur Oscar Craig makes the cut on a tough day dominated by warm winds