New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has ordered the country's biggest city Auckland into a snap lockdown for the first time in nearly six months, after three coronavirus cases emerged in the community.
The Pacific island nation has been widely praised for its handling of the pandemic, with just 25 deaths in a population of five million.
But almost two million residents were told today to stay at home from midnight, when the level-three lockdown begins, with schools and businesses to close except for essential services. "The main thing we are asking people in Auckland to do is stay at home to avoid any risk of spread," Ms Ardern said.