Wellington (AFP)

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Tuesday declared a three-day confinement of the entire archipelago after the discovery of a locally-originated case of coronavirus contamination.

Ms Ardern said New Zealand, which had not recorded any contamination in the population for six months, could not take risks with the much more contagious Delta variant, which "is a game changer".

"We have seen what can happen elsewhere if we do not get the situation under control. We only have one chance," Ms Ardern said in a televised address.

The head of government spoke of the difficulties encountered by Australia, which, since mid-June, has struggled to contain an epidemic resurgence linked to the Delta variant, to justify this "rapid and brutal" decision, taken after a man of 58-year-old tested positive in Auckland.

"It's better to be careful and start with strong (measures) and then lift them as soon as possible rather than start slow and stay in that phase (of containment) for much, much longer," she said.

The announcements predict that New Zealand will be confined for three days from Tuesday evening.

For their part, Auckland and the neighboring region of Coromandel will be for a week.

A caregiver notes information at a Covid-19 testing center on August 14, 2020 in Auckland DAVID ROWLAND AFP / Archives

The authorities said they had decided to strike hard, in particular because the case recorded in Auckland would be unrelated to a traveler from abroad or to a quarantine center.

The archipelago has been praised abroad for its effective management of the Covid-19 epidemic which, so far, has only killed 26 people for a population of five million.

No national confinement has been decreed for more than a year and daily life has almost resumed its normal course.

However, the vaccination campaign is struggling to roll out, with around 20% of the population fully vaccinated so far.

Ms Ardern said the Delta variant must now be considered to be present in the territory, although lab test results cannot confirm this until Wednesday.

© 2021 AFP