New Zealand said it will move to its highest alert level imposing self-isolation, with all-non-essential services, schools and offices to be shut over the next 48 hours as the number of coronavirus cases more than double.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the decisions will place the most significant restriction on New Zealanders' movements in modern history, but it was needed to save lives and slow the virus. "We are all now preparing to go into self isolation as a nation," Ms Ardern said in a news conference, adding that tens of thousands of New Zealanders could die without these measures.
People lined up outside supermarkets shortly after the announcement to stack up essentials, despite assurances from the government that there were