Covid rules forces New Zealand PM cancels her marriage

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was Sunday forced to call off her own wedding as she tightened Covid-19 restrictions in the face of an outbreak of the Omicron variant. "My wedding will not be going ahead," she confirmed after detailing new restrictions; including a limit of 100 fully vaccinated people at events."I just joined 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." Ardern and long-time partner Clarke Gayford have never announced their wedding date, but it was believed to be scheduled for some time in the next few weeks.

The emergence of nine cases of Omicron in a family who travelled between cities to attend a wedding, and the infection of a flight attendant on one aircraft they flew on, forced New Zealand to impose its "red setting" restrictions from midnight Sunday. Omicron is far more transmissible than the earlier Delta variant but is less likely to make people seriously ill. In addition to limiting crowd numbers, face coverings are now mandatory on public transport and in shops. The new restrictions are set to remain in place until at least the end of next month. New Zealand has detected 15,104 Covid-19 cases and recorded 52 deaths since the pandemic began. Tough border restrictions and snap lockdowns have been in place for much of the last two years.