New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern breathes a sigh of relief, as she says that the countries medical authorities seem to have found the initial case from Sydney and begun testing all the people at facilities.
Key quotes
"Today, we believe we have uncovered the piece of the puzzle we have been looking for."
“They believe there won't be that many more cases.”
New Zealand’s Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said, “another 11 new cases have been found, bringing the total to 21.”
"Because of the demographic of the cases, they have been out and about, there's real potential for widespread (transmission)," Dr. Bloomfield added.
He said they expect the number of cases to continue to rise in part due to the large number of locations that infected people have visited.
NZD reaction
NZD/USD accelerates its decline towards 0.6850, emerging as the weakest across the G10 fx space amid covid concerns and broad-based US dollar strength.
At the press time, the kiwi is down 0.44% on the day, trading at 0.6856.