New Zealand is not yet looking at a level 4 lockdown – The Guardian

The Guardian explains that New Zealand is not yet looking at a level 4 lockdown because the rising number of Covid-19 cases are all related to a single cluster, the health minister has said.

Chris Hipkins told Radio NZ that more than one cluster would have to be circulating for the country to rise to level 4 restrictions, and so far there was no evidence of that, though more cases from the same cluster had emerged overnight.

There are 17 cases of Covid-19 linked to the south Auckland cluster, and the city of 1.4 million is under level 3 lockdown for three days, meaning people can only venture out for food or exercise.

Jacinda Ardern will meet with cabinet at 3pm local time on Friday to discuss where to next, and at 5.30pm she will hold a media briefing to announce her decision on whether Auckland’s lockdown will extend past midnight. ‘

Meanwhile, NZD/USD fell 30 pips over the day to 0.6550 as the greenback staged a moderate recovery as US yields pick themselves up from the floor.

US 2-year treasury yields rose from 0.15% to 0.17% while the 10-year yield from 0.65% to 0.72% which was a two-month high.

The higher yields were attributed to better jobless claims data, as well as a poorly subscribed 30-year treasury bond auction.