MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th April, 2020) New Zealand's political leadership and the chief executives of public service organizations will take a 20 percent pay cut for six months in solidarity with citizens who have been placed into economic insecurity due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at a press conference on Wednesday.
"I can confirm that myself, government ministers and public service chief executives will take a 20 percent pay cut for the next six months as we acknowledge New Zealanders who are reliant on wage subsidies, taking pay cuts and losing their jobs as a result of COVID-19's global pandemic," Arden said.
Earlier in the press conference, Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield announced that 20 new probable or confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease were reported in the country over the past 24 hours.
The current total of confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand stands at 1,386 as of Wednesday morning. The death toll remains at nine.
On Tuesday, the National Emergency Management Agency announced the prolongation of the country's coronavirus-related state of emergency for another one-week period; the third time the emergency measures have been extended since they were first put into force on March 25.
