New Zealand says it won’t use lockdowns when omicron spreads

By NICK PERRY
Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand is among the few remaining countries to have avoided any outbreaks of the omicron variant. But Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says an outbreak is inevitable and the nation would tighten restrictions as soon as one was detected. She also said Thursday that New Zealand would not impose the lockdowns that it has used previously. About 93% of New Zealanders aged 12 and over are fully vaccinated and 52% have had a booster shot. The country has just begun vaccinating children aged between 5 and 11. New Zealand has managed to contain the spread of the delta variant, with an average of about 20 new cases a day. But it has seen an increasing number of arrivals in mandatory quarantine who are infected with omicron.