New Zealand Parliament suspended due to anti-COVID-19 lockdown: PM Jacinda Ardern

Earlier on Monday, Ardern announced the extension of lockdown until Aug 27 in the whole country barring Auckland, where the shutdown will be in place till the month end, as the highly contagious Delta variant is causing a spike in COVID-19 infections.

"As we did last time, we have temporarily suspended the sitting of Parliament for one week on the advice of the Director-General of Health. While, of course, we want to ensure that representatives from across The House have the ability to scrutinise the government at this time, bringing MPs from across the country to Parliament does pose risk," Ardern stated, as cited by the national media.

Lawmakers will be able to connect virtually with Parliament's select committees. The disruption to Parliament is minimal in comparison to other countries, the Prime Minister added.

Following the detection of a Delta case in Auckland, the Health Ministry on Aug 17 had imposed a three-day countrywide lockdown, corresponding to the maximum Alert Level 4 of the national virus risks system.

Hundreds of lockdown opponents took to streets to protest against the restrictions in the cities of Nelson, Tauranga and Auckland, with a dozen of protesters arrested by the police.

New Zealand has so far vaccinated about 20% of its population, or just under 1 million people. The island nation has recorded 3,054 COVID-19 cases in total.