New restrictions in New Zealand. 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 explaining 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 partner Clarke Gayford 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’m no different from the thousands of other New Zealanders who have experienced far more devastating situations from 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.
Mass screening in Beijing ahead of the Games
Less than two weeks before 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.
Mexico
The Mexican health ministry reported 364 more deaths from COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths in the country since the start of the pandemic to 303,085. The casualties marked the highest daily death toll since November.
India
India has reported 333,533 new infections from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, according to a government statement. The government said in the statement that the cure rate of infected people is currently 93.18%.