A national remembrance service to mark one year since the Christchurch mosques attack has been cancelled due to coronavirus.
As recently as Friday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the event could take place as New Zealand is yet to record a community transmission of Covid-19.
"This is a pragmatic decision,” Ms Ardern said in a statement.
"We're very saddened to cancel, but in remembering such a terrible tragedy, we shouldn't create the risk of further harm being done."
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (C) attends Friday prayers at Horncastle Arena in Christchurch, New Zealand. Source: THE PRESS POOL
"The advice we received for this event, is that based on people travelling from different parts of the country and from overseas, if there was a case it could be difficult to trace those who had come into contact with that person, so we are taking a cautious approach."
Ms Ardern said 15 March will now become an opportunity for New Zealanders to privately reflect in their own way on last year's events.
"I encourage everyone to take time on Sunday to remember and to recommit to the values of inclusion and love demonstrated so clearly a year ago."
New Zealand’s Ministry of Health confirmed earlier today that an Auckland man in his sixties was diagnosed with Covid-19, after returning from the United States.
Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel said the fluid nature of the pandemic led to organisers making the difficult decision.
“Tomorrow, we can still reflect on the incredible ways the community came together in response to the events of that tragic day.”
Spokespeople for the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre both supported the government’s decision to call off the memorial on safety grounds.
Both communities will continue to hold smaller gatherings tomorrow and will take necessary precautions.
“In that case, it’s a small event, with known members, and one or two invitees,” Al-Noor Mosque Spokesperson Tony Green said.
“If anything were to happen from that, we contact the number of people who were there, you cannot do that in public.”
On Friday, Prime Minister Ardern had said the Memorial Service could continue despite Coronavirus concerns, citing the lack of community transmission in the country.
Government Minister Megan Woods told reporters today the advice the government receives is continually being updated.
“New Zealand has largely been able to contain the virus [and] we have no reason to believe there is community transmission at this stage, and that is because we’ve been able to do rigorous tracing of people who have come into contact with the virus,” she said.
“One of the main issues we took advice on was the nature of the event, and the lack of traceability after the event was one of the main issues we got back.”
The country now has six confirmed cases of COVID-19 and two probable cases, with the latest diagnosis coming after six days of no new cases.
Prime Minister Ardern has flagged new border restrictions for New Zealand in response to the pandemic, with the Government looking into measures to prevent the spread of the virus to Pacific nations.
The country currently has travel bans in place for China and Iran.
Additional reporting: AAP
