New Zealand's city streets were largely deserted on Wednesday as the country returned to life in lockdown for the first time in six months in a bid to halt any spread of the infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus, APA reports citing Reuters.
New Zealand had been virus-free and living without curbs until Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ordered a snap 3-day nationwide lockdown on Tuesday after a single case, suspected to be Delta, was found in the largest city Auckland.
The number of COVID-19 cases had risen to 10 on Wednesday, although modelling suggested numbers could rise to 50-100.
"From the experience of what we've seen overseas, we are absolutely anticipating more cases," Ardern said.
The move to lockdown will put the country "in a much less risky position", she added at a media conference.
New Zealand will be in level 4 lockdown, the highest alert level, for at least three days, while Auckland will remain in lockdown for seven days.
Ardern said genome sequencing had shown the Auckland case was linked to an outbreak in neighbouring Australia's New South Wales state, but it was still not clear how Delta had entered the community.
In the capital Wellington, few people ventured out in the city centre, which would normally be bustling with shoppers and office workers, while television footage showed similar scenes in Auckland.
Panic buying erupted after the lockdown announcement on Tuesday, with people stocking essentials at supermarkets despite repeated assurances from the government that there will be no shortage in supplies.
Businesses and schools scrambled to move online.
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