Auckland, New Zealand - More than 1.6 million people now have to stay at home because there are three (!) new coronavirus cases in the city.

A couple from the New Zealand city of Auckland and their daughter were infected with the coronavirus. The woman and child were notified over the weekend that they had the UK variant. According to initial findings, the man probably carries the normal variant of the virus.

The three are believed to be the first people to have contracted Covid-19 from other coronavirus patients in the country, despite the city being considered coronavirus-free since late January.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (40) did not hesitate. On Sunday, she ordered a lockdown for the more than 1.6 million inhabitants of New Zealand's capital. For at least three days starting Monday, only supermarkets and pharmacies are open. The economy is shut down to a significant extent. Children should stay at home, unless both parents continue to work despite the total lockdown.

On Monday, the officials plan to discuss the continuation of the measures.

According to the Australian ABC News, the affected woman works for a subsidiary of the airline Lufthansa. At LSG Sky Chefs, she mainly cleans the pilots' and flight attendants' uniforms. It is considered likely she could have caught the disease from colleagues or from a contaminated uniform.

Ten contacts had to go under quarantine. Six of those close contacts have already tested negative. The results of the four remaining tests are still pending.

Since the mother works for the airline caterer, which prepares meals for Air New Zealand domestic flights, no food or drinks will be served on those flights for the next few days as a precautionary measure, ABC News further reported.

No new infections were detected in Auckland on Monday, the New Zealand Ministry of Health said. Six new cases were recorded in the rest of the country within 24 hours, and the seven-day incidence is currently 0.3.