Asia Today: New Zealand imposes new mask rules as precaution
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Starting Thursday, New Zealanders will be legally required to wear masks on public transport in Auckland and on planes nationwide.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Virus Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced the new rules on Monday after meeting with senior lawmakers.
The country has been largely successful in eliminating the virus but has experienced several small outbreaks in Auckland, the latest one after a military worker at a hotel where travelers returning from abroad are being quarantined got infected.
Ardern said the new rules were precautionary.
“New Zealand remains in a unique position globally. We have economic and personal freedoms that few other countries enjoy,” she said. “But these freedoms are under increased threat as COVID surges in the world around us.”
The rules don’t apply to children under age 12 or passengers taking taxis or Ubers, although their drivers will be required to wear masks.
In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region:
— India has registered 30,548 new coronaviruses cases, the fewest in the last four months but amid growing concerns about the latest surge in the capital, New Delhi. India has now recorded a total of 8.84 million cases, second behind the U.S. The Health Ministry said Monday that the country was showing a trend of declining average daily cases over the last two months. The ministry also reported 435 new fatalities, raising the death toll to 130,070. India’s daily cases have seen a steady decline since the middle of September, but New Delhi is now recording more new infections than any other state. Experts have attributed the surge to the festival season, dangerous pollution levels and a dip in temperatures.
— An outbreak of the coronavirus in the Australian city...
