Wellington, Europe Brief News – New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared she has canceled her wedding planned to be held in this summer.
The Prime Minister’s announcement came as the country continues to curb a new wave of Omicron cases.
The entire country has recently entered the highest level of Covid restrictions after an outbreak of the Omicron variant.
The restrictions include a cap of 100 vaccinated people at events and mask wearing in shops and on public transport.
New Zealand has recorded 15,104 Covid cases and 52 deaths.
Ardern further confirmed to reporters that her wedding to television host Clarke Gayford would not be going ahead.
“I am no different to, dare I say it, thousands of other New Zealanders who have had much more devastating impacts felt by the pandemic, the most gutting of which is the inability to be with a loved one sometimes when they are gravely ill,” she said.
“That will far, far outstrip any sadness I experience,” she added.
Last month, New Zealand said it was pushing back its phased border reopening until the end of February over concerns about the Omicron variant.
New Zealand was widely praised for its COVID-19 response. It reported 26 deaths were since the pandemic outbreak in a population of five million.
The country has relied on strict border controls backed by hard lockdowns when any cases do slip through.
It has adopted rapid and strict lockdown measures in 2020 which effectively stopped the spread of the virus.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has repeatedly referred to New Zealand as “our team of five million”.
But, Delta may force a rethink in the country’s pandemic strategy. New Zealand has one of the lowest number of fully vaccinated people among the OECD.