New Zealand PM cancels own wedding due to Omicron restrictions

New Zealand Prime Minister (PM) Jacinda Ardern has cancelled her own wedding as the nation imposes new restrictions in the wake of the Covid-19 Omicron variant.

The prime minister was rumoured to be planning to marry her longtime partner Clarke Gayford.

“My wedding will not be going ahead,” she said.

In a briefing, Ardern said, “I just join many other New Zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic and to anyone who’s caught up in that scenario, I am so sorry.”

She also urged citizens to get booster and reduce contact with others to avoid the spread.

In a video, she was asked by a reporter how she felt about the postponement of her wedding, Ardern replied: “Such is life.”

The “red setting” of the country’s pandemic response includes heightened measures such as mask-wearing and limits on gatherings which will go into effect on Monday.

The latest curbs come after nine cases of Omicron were detected in a single family that flew to Auckland for a wedding earlier this month.