MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th August, 2021) The arrest of opponents of lockdown in New Zealand, imposed earlier in the week due to one Delta coronavirus strain case, continues into its second day, the national police said on Thursday.
Following the detection of a Delta case in the country's biggest city of Auckland, the Health Ministry on Tuesday midnight imposed a three-day countrywide lockdown, corresponding to the maximum Alert Level 4 of the national virus risks system. Auckland and the neighboring Coromandel Peninsula were subject to a week-long lockdown.
"Police have today made a small number of arrests to help ensure community safety and limit any potential further spread of COVID-19," Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said in a statement.
Three citizens, who were part of a ten-person gathering in the city of Christchurch, were arrested for non-compliance with COVID-19 restrictions and alleged involvement in an anti-lockdown rally, the statement read. In addition, the police also arrested two people in the Far North district for their refusal to wear face masks, according to Coster.
The incidents follow the arrest of eight lockdown opponents on Wednesday as a result of protests, with four arrested in Auckland and four more in Tauranga.
The lockdown is expected to be lifted on Friday. In the meantime, the country has confirmed twenty new COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, bringing the total of active cases to 55.
The situation marks the first COVID-19 community outbreak since February, as the country had managed to keep the virus out for months.
