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.

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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.