New Zealand will rapidly move to alert level four if a case of the Covid-19 Delta variant is detected in in this country, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has confirmed. Hipkins warned that the danger of the Delta variant could be seen in Sydney, now in its seventh week of lockdown with case numbers refusing to fall. He said even the gold standard of contact tracing was not enough alone to control the Delta variant, as was being seen in New South Wales, and the variant was continuing to "wreak havoc". "For several days now they have reported over 300 new cases [per day] ... so we're adjusting our response and our more likely response." With Delta, this means a rapid move to alert level four is more likely if cases are found.

Source: Otago Daily Times August 11, 2021 01:41 UTC