New Zealand to enter lockdown after single virus case found
Wellington, Aug 17 (AP): New Zealand's government took drastic action Tuesday by putting the entire nation into a strict lockdown for at least three days after finding a single case of coronavirus infection in the community.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern invoked some of the stirring rhetoric she used early in the pandemic by urging the team of 5 million New Zealand's population to go hard and early in trying to eliminate the latest outbreak.
"We have seen what happens elsewhere if we fail to get on top of it," Ardern said. We only get one chance.
She said Auckland, where the infected man lives, and Coromandel, where he had visited, would go into a full lockdown for seven days and the remainder of the country for three days while health experts tried to find the source of his infection.
The developments prompted people to line up outside supermarkets to stock up on essential items and sparked a sharp drop in the value of the New Zealand dollar.
New Zealand had managed to stamp out the virus, and the last outbreak was in February. But Ardern had been warning that the contagiousness of the delta variant would likely require more drastic action than previous outbreaks.
New Zealand has also been slower than other developed nations to inoculate its population, leaving it vulnerable to outbreaks. Only 32% of people have had at least one shot and 18% are fully vaccinated.
And officials have been viewing a growing outbreak in nearby Sydney with alarm, saying they don't want to make the same mistakes by waiting too long to impose strict measures.
Health officials said genome testing would not verify until Wednesday whether the infected 58-year-old man had the delta variant, although they were working under the assumption he does.
Officials said they could not immediately find a connection between the man and the handful of people who have tested positive while isolating in quarantine after arriving from abroad. The border is seen as the most likely source of any outbreaks.
The move into the strictest lockdown underscored the vastly different approach New Zealand has taken to the virus than most other nations, which are attempting to suppress its spread rather than eliminate it entirely.
New Zealand has reported just 26 virus deaths since the pandemic began.
The lockdown takes effect from just before midnight Tuesday. It requires people to remain at home and avoid others. Most people can leave only to buy groceries or exercise. The nation's vaccination program had been accelerating but has been suspended for two days due to the outbreak. (AP)
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Excise 'scam': Kejriwal withdraws from SC plea against HC's interim stay on bail order
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal withdrew from the Supreme Court on Wednesday his plea challenging the Delhi High Court order granting an interim stay on the operation of the trial court's bail order in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam.
A vacation bench of Justices Manoj Misra and SVN Bhatti, which allowed Kejriwal to withdraw his plea, was told by the AAP leader's counsel senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi that since the high court has passed a detailed order on June 25, he would like to file a substantial appeal.
Singhvi informed the bench that new developments were taking place every day and Kejriwal has now been arrested by the CBI.
"We would like to file a substantial appeal to bring on record all relevant details and challenge the June 25 order of the high court in which bail order was finally stayed," he said.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), said he has filed the reply to Kejriwal's plea which may be taken on record.
The bench recorded the submission and gave Kejriwal the liberty to file the appeal.
Earlier on Wednesday, a Delhi court allowed the CBI to formally arrest Kejriwal in connection with the alleged excise scam.
On Tuesday, the high court stayed the trial court order granting Kejriwal bail in the case and held that the lower court did not "appropriately appreciate" the material placed before it by the Enforcement Directorate.
The top court had on June 24 termed "unusual" the high court's decision to reserve the order while granting an interim stay on the operation of the trial court's order granting bail to Kejriwal in the case.
The AAP leader was arrested on March 21 by the ED and granted regular bail by the trial court on June 20.
In its bail order, the trial court had held that prima facie, Kejriwal's guilt was yet to be established and that the ED had failed to furnish direct evidence linking him to the proceeds of crime in the money laundering case.
The excise policy was scrapped in 2022 after the Delhi lieutenant governor ordered a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and corruption involving its formulation and execution.
According to the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), irregularities were committed while modifying the policy and undue favours were extended to the licence holders.
