New restrictions in New Zealand
The New Zealand premier Jacinda Ardern was forced to postpone her marriage, due to the new restrictions decided by her government to cope with the resurgence of infections from Covid. “My wedding will not be celebrated”, he announced, after having illustrated in detail the additional measures to combat the virus, including a limit of 100 people, all fully vaccinated, for any meeting or event and the obligation to wear a mask also outdoors. The restrictions will remain in effect until the end of next month.
Ardern and his companion Clarke Gayford they had never announced the exact date of their wedding, which was however expected in the coming weeks. “C’est la vie”, the premier replied to a question about the impact of the restrictions on her wedding. “I am no different from the thousands of other New Zealanders who have experienced far more devastating situations as a result of the pandemic, including the particularly painful one of not being able to be with loved ones when they are seriously ill,” she added.
New Zealand, among the nations least affected by Covid-19, has officially registered 15,104 infections and 52 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth turned down exceptions to anti-Covid measures for her husband’s funeral
by our correspondent Antonello Guerrera
Mass screening in Beijing ahead of the Games
With less than two weeks left for the start of the Winter Olympics, the Covid alarm returns in Beijing. Authorities have announced that all residents of Fengtai district, around two million people, will be screened after an outbreak is discovered. Last weekend in the Chinese capital, the first case of the Omicron variant was found in a person who had received a letter from Canada, on which traces of the virus were found. About thirty cases have since been identified, some of them related to the Delta strain of the coronavirus.
Fengtai is located approximately 20 kilometers from the site that will host the Olympic freestyle ski and snowboard competitions. In that district is the Xinfadi market, which in 2020 was the epicenter of a previous outbreak linked to traces of the virus on an imported salmon platter.