Jacinda Ardern

The Auckland lockdown began on August 12 after four cases were detected in the city of 1.5 million, ending 102 days free of community transmission when it appeared New Zealand had beaten the virus.

Trump sparked uproar in New Zealand when he told a crowd in Minnesota that the South Pacific country of 5 million people was in the grip of a "terrible" upsurge in COVID-19 cases, having earlier succeeded in eliminating the disease.

Pressure had been mounting on PM Jacinda Ardern to postpone the vote amid the resurgence of COVID-19 infections in its biggest city Auckland, after the country had been free of coronavirus cases for 102 days.

The charismatic 40-year-old leader is on track for a comfortable victory in the Sept. 19 election, according to opinion polls, having won global praise for her leadership during the coronavirus pandemic.

The health ministry said the new cases were related to the border as a result of recent travel from the UK

New Zealand's 5 million people are emerging from the pandemic while big economies such as Brazil, Britain, India and the United States continue to grapple with spread of the virus.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was unflustered by an earthquake that struck the capital Wellington

The first public poll since the coronavirus crisis took hold showed popularity for Ardern's Labour jumped 14 points to 56.5% - the highest for any party ever.

New Zealand's offices, schools and non-essential services have been closed for the last three weeks, and economic activity is at a standstill as the country undertakes one of the strictest lockdowns globally.

"Its a state of emergency to preserve our way of life," Ardern said in a speech in parliament on Wednesday, declaring a state of national emergency. The country will go into its highest level of alert from midnight.

Ardern confirmed five fatalities and said another eight people were still missing after Monday's tragedy at White Island.

‘Do dragons wear suits?’ Jacinda Ardern asked the little girl.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said avoiding the issue would be ‘gross negligence’ and burden future generations.

When making the announcement, the California-based company did not specifically reference the March 15 Christchurch atrocity that claimed 50 lives when a self-avowed white supremacist targeting Muslims opened fire in two mosques.

She said a royal commission, which are independent inquiries and are usually reserved for matters of the greatest public importance, was an appropriate response to the attack.

Ardern said she would travel to Beijing on March 31.

A photo from Dubai's Public Diplomacy Office showed Burj Khalifa lit up with a picture of Ardern in a hijab.

"He sought many things from his act of terror, but one was notoriety -- that is why you will never hear me mention his name," Ardern said in an emotional address to a special meeting of parliament, which she opened with the Arabic greeting "as salaam aleikum" -- 'peace be upon you'.

The shock of the attacks has led to calls for an immediate tightening of laws to restrict access to some firearms, particularly semi-automatic weapons.

On March 17 news conference, Arden used some of her strongest language yet about gun control, saying that laws need to change and "they will change."