New Zealand city going into 3-day lockdown after virus found
Wellington, Feb 14: New Zealand's largest city of Auckland will be placed in a three-day lockdown beginning just before midnight Sunday following the discovery of three unexplained corona virus in the community.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the move Sunday evening after an urgent meeting with other top lawmakers in the Cabinet. She said they decided to take a cautious approach until they found out more about the outbreak, including whether the infections were of the more contagious variants.
The rest of New Zealand will also be placed under heightened restrictions although will not go into lockdown, Ardern said.
In a significant setback to New Zealand's efforts to keep the coronavirus from spreading in the community, three people from one Auckland family have tested positive with the source of the infections unknown, health officials announced Sunday.
The news prompted Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to cancel her plans and return to the capital Wellington for further briefings and decision-making.
New Zealand had successfully stamped out community spread of the virus, although new cases are regularly caught at the border among returning travellers, all of whom are required to spend two weeks in quarantine.
Officials said they're keeping an open mind on how the Auckland mother, father and daughter caught the disease. They said the mother works at an airline catering company, and officials are investigating whether there is a link to infected passengers.
Officials said the daughter's high school will be closed on Monday and Tuesday as a precaution, but so far they have not announced any broader restrictions.
We are gathering all of the facts as quickly as we can, and the system that served us so well in the past is really gearing up to do so again, said COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins.
He described the cases as new and active. He said scientists are carrying out genome sequencing to see whether the cases are of the more transmissible variants, and also to see whether they match with any infected passengers.
He said there would likely be a further update later on Sunday.
New Zealand has kept COVID-19 contained better than almost any other country, Hipkins said. But as we have kept saying, there is no such thing as no risk.
Ardern on Sunday cancelled her plans to attend the Big Gay Out, a large Auckland festival that celebrates the rainbow community.
New Zealand, with a population of 5 million, has reported a total of just over 2,300 cases and 25 deaths since the pandemic started.
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Unemployed class 10 passouts in Bengal to get Rs 1,500 allowance from March 7: Mamata
Kolkata (PTI): Ahead of the assembly polls, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that from Saturday unemployed young job seekers, having passed secondary examination (class 10), will receive Rs 1,500 allowance every month to help them move towards a self-reliant future.
The TMC supremo made this announcement - on the eve of International Women’s Day on March 8 - during her speech at the sit-in against large-scale deletion of names of voters by the Election Commission during Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral roll exercise.
She said young men and women - aged 21–40 years - who have passed the secondary exams - will receive Rs 1,500 per month from March 7. Bannerjee said while the assistance was originally scheduled to begin in April, it will now start immediately.
"In the case of Yuva Sathi, all those who are still studying and are not beneficiaries of any schemes other than scholarships will receive the amount. We had earlier stated that the money would be given on April 1. But since tomorrow is International Women's Day, as a gift, we have changed the payment date from April 1 to today (March 7)," she said.
All those aged between 21 and 40 years, numbering around 1 crore people, have applied for this scheme, she said, pointing out these are people who are not beneficiaries of any other schemes except scholarships.
Claiming that her government has generated employment opportunities to a great extent, Banerjee said, "The unemployment rate in Bengal has decreased by 40 per cent. We have provided skill training to at least 40 lakh people, out of which around 10 lakh are already employed.
"This has also happened because we have linked the websites of industrialists with those who have received skill training through Utkarsha Bangla. If migrant workers are interested, they will also be given opportunities. Recently, I heard that around 10,000 people are being trained in the jute industry, and they will also be absorbed into jobs," she said.
The CM said the state is giving Rs 10,000 to farmers every month.
"Even those with just one cottah of land used to receive Rs 4,000 earlier. Now we have also announced Rs 4,000 for landless farmers," she said.
Banerjee said in Bengal, six economic corridors are being constructed to connect the entire state.
"Apart from that, two power plants of 1,600 megawatts (800 megawatts each) are being built in Salboni. We are also number one in IT. More people are employed here than in Bengaluru. Around 200 new companies have also come here.
"Those who defame the state should know that we are number one in small and medium-scale industries. Around 1.5 crore people work in small-scale industries. Units from across the country have come here. In Bengal's leather hub in Bantala, at least 7.5 lakh people work there. Our self-help group women are doing really well. We have created around 12 lakh self-help groups," she said.
Banerjee said around one lakh people will be employed in the large coal reserve in Deucha Pachami in Birbhum district and for the next 100 years, there will be no power cuts in the state.
Bengal's GSDP is the highest even after "repaying Rs 6 lakh crore of debt and paying interest on it and despite Rs 2 lakh crore of central funds still pending," the CM said.
"From GSDP to revenue generation, we are the highest," she claimed.
