Authorities plan to seal off the northern tip of New Zealand with police cordons as they enforce a lockdown in the region over fears of undetected community transmission of Covid-19 there, Reuters reports.
Part of the Northland region, about 270 kilometres from the biggest city of Auckland, is to begin a level 3 lockdown from midnight, said Chris Hipkins, the minister coordinating the response to coronavirus.
The move follows two cases in the region that lacked a link to any known cases.
"It's unclear how they could have possibly picked up the virus," Hipkins told a news conference. "There could be undetected community transmission in Northland right now."
