A New Zealand City Just Went Into ‘Alert Level 3’ Restrictions After 1 COVID-19 Case

After just one new COVID-19 case was discovered in Auckland, New Zealand, this weekend, the whole city has gone into a full lockdown.

In a public address on February 28, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed that the country’s biggest city would return to “alert level three” restrictions for at least seven days.

Editor's Choice: Kamala Harris Opened Up To Justin Trudeau About Her 'Teenage Years' In Canada

This means Auckland residents will be required to stay at home wherever possible, including to work. Schools and non-essential shops and businesses will be required to close as of Sunday.

It’s in response to one new case of COVID-19 in the region, which could not be directly connected to any other positive tests recently.

Less than two weeks earlier, the same city shut down for three days after several new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed.

Prime Minister Ardern described the situation as “a cause for concern,” and reminded New Zealanders that following restrictions would save lives.

The rest of the country remains in an “alert level two” situation, which allows local travel, non-essential businesses to remain open and gatherings of up to 100 people.

Until recently, social media videos and images from New Zealand showed residents to be living relatively normally, with huge New Years Eve celebrations and concerts of 20,000 people.

In the country of just under 5 million people, 26 have died from COVID-19.