Two cases of the British variant of the coronavirus have appeared in New Zealand and have ordered the containment of two million people

New Zealand’s largest city started on Monday a a three-day lockdown that forces two million people to stay at home, as authorities work to contain the country’s first outbreak of the highly contagious variant located in the UK.

The Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, ordered a 72-hour lockdown in Auckland after three family members were found infected in the city. This is the first time in six months that such a step has been taken.

Schools and non-essential businesses were forced to close and residents were barred from leaving the city except for certain essential needs.

The Health Department said sequencing showed that two of the cases were caused by the strain first detected in the UK. The evidence for the third person is still pending.

“This result reinforces the decision to take swift and forceful action around the latest cases to detect and eradicate the possibility of any further transmission,” the ministry said.

The country has been praised for its handling of the pandemic, with only 25 deaths out of a population of 5 million.

The rest of New Zealand has been placed on a lower alert level, with mandatory masks on public transport and meetings limited to a maximum of 100 people.

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