New Zealand Lockdown Costs Millions Each Day to Auckland Businesses

Commute traffic is seen on the first day of New Zealand's new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) safety measure that mandates wearing of a mask on public transport, in Auckland, New Zealand on Aug. 31, 2020. Fiona Goodall/REUTERS

WELLINGTON—The mayor of New Zealand’s biggest city, Auckland, said on Monday that its residents should be prioritised for vaccines, after it was thrown into its fourth lockdown over the weekend costing millions of dollars a day.

The seven-day lockdown of the population of nearly 2 million was prompted by the case of a person who had been infectious for a week but not in isolation.