New Zealand Drops "Covid Zero" Goal After "Game Changer" Delta Variant

Coronavirus: An August outbreak in New Zealand prompted a seven-week lockdown in its main population centre that has failed to curb infection rates.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern admitted Monday that New Zealand's widely praised "Covid zero" strategy had failed to halt a stubborn outbreak in Auckland and said a new approach was needed.

The hardline elimination policy had largely protected the country from the pandemic, with residents enjoying a near-normal domestic life alongside tight restrictions on international borders.

But an August outbreak prompted a seven-week lockdown in its main population centre that has failed to curb infection rates.

Ardern said the highly transmissible Delta variant had proved a "game-changer" that could not be eliminated.