New Zealand’s largest city to go back into lockdown over new COVID-19 case

New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, is going back into a seven-day lockdown after a new coronavirus case emerged.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the move on Saturday, with officials still working to identify the origin of the coronavirus in this case, Reuters reported.

Countries have been closely monitoring the United Kingdom, African and Brazilian variants of the virus.

Officials say the patient was infectious Sunday and visited several public places before realizing two days later that they had symptoms.

For the next week, residents in the city will only be allowed out to get groceries or for essential work. The rest of the country has level two lockdowns and will not allow big gatherings.

New Zealand saw some coronavirus cases earlier this month, with three of the cases being the coronavirus variant from the U.K.

There is evidence that the U.K. variant is more contagious and more deadly than previous variants. 

Officials are attempting to see if the new case is linked to the earlier cases.

New Zealand has seen more than 2,000 reported cases and over 20 deaths from the virus, dramatically smaller numbers compared to other countries, with the nation going into lockdown after new cases emerge.