New Zealand PM tests COVID-positive

1/10/2023 12:23

        New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has tested positive for COVID-19 and will work remotely while isolating, his office said on Sunday, just two weeks before a general election in which his Labour party is struggling.
        
        The positive test will temporarily sideline Hipkins in the campaign for the Oct. 14 election. Labour has been sliding in the opinion polls, with the centre-right National party leading by 31.9% to 26.5% in a recent survey.
        
        The prime minister's office said in a statement, Hipkins has cold and flu symptoms that began on Saturday and will isolate for five days or until he returned a negative test.
        
        A spokesperson said, Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni would stand in for Hipkins at a Samoan church service in Auckland on Sunday.