New Zealand's biggest city has begun a snap three-day lockdown, forcing two million people to stay at home, as authorities scrambled to contain the nation's first outbreak of the highly contagious variant first detected in the UK.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ordered the 72-hour lockdown for Auckland after three family members were found to be infected in the North Island city.
Schools and non-essential businesses are closed and residents barred from leaving the city except for a few essential reasons.
The health ministry said genomic sequencing has since showed two of the cases were caused by the strain that was first detected in Britain.