Rules are rules: New Zealand PM delays her wedding due to COVID

Robert Besser
26 Jan 2022, 19:22 GMT+10

Due to the COVID-19 restrictions she put in place, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had to postpone her own wedding
Ardern, 41, put the country, with its population of 5 million, under the "red setting" of its pandemic response, limiting gatherings and enforcing mask mandates
The detection of nine Omicron cases in a single family that flew to Auckland for a wedding led to the new rules

WELLINGTON, New Zealand: Due to the COVID-19 restrictions she put in place, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had to postpone her own wedding.

Ardern, 41, put the country, with its population of 5 million, under the "red setting" of its pandemic response, limiting gatherings and enforcing mask mandates.

"I just join many other New Zealanders who have had an experience like that, as a result of the pandemic, and to anyone who is caught up in that scenario, I am so sorry," she said.

The detection of nine Omicron cases in a single family that flew to Auckland for a wedding led to the new rules.

Labor Prime Minister Ardern attracted worldwide attention for her country's strict COVID-19 regulations.

Just 52 deaths from the virus have been reported in the country since the start of the pandemic, and more than 90 percent of the country is fully vaccinated, while more than 50 percent have received a booster.

Though an Omicron surge has not begun in New Zealand, Ardern stressed that she expects it to happen.

Ardern has been prime minister since 2017 and was elected for a second-term in 2020 in a landslide victory.

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