#Part of New Zealand’s strict COVID-19 lockdown ruled unlawful

New Zealand’s government broke the law when it told residents to stay at home during the early days of the country’s coronavirus lockdown, a court ruled Wednesday.

New Zealanders’ rights were breached between March 26 and April 3 when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and other officials announced a stay-at-home order before it had actually passed, the High Court ruled.

“The statements created the overwhelming impression that compliance was required by law — indeed, that is how we interpreted them at the time,” the court said, noting the lockdown order didn’t pass until April 3, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The three-judge panel added that it would be “quite unreal” to expect residents to have interpreted Ardern’s lockdown announcement as a voluntary request to stay home at the time.

But while judges found that Ardern had overstepped legally, they also conceded her restrictions were “justified” in the island nation — which now boasts among the world’s lowest COVID-19 death tolls.

In its decision, the judges — Susan Thomas, Geoffrey Venning and Rebecca Ellis — said the government ultimately made the right choice to “go hard and go early” in limiting the spread of coronavirus.

The court decision comes after Andrew Borrowdale, a lawyer from Wellington, challenged the legality of steps taken by the country’s government during its five-week lockdown in the spring.

The ruling could cause prosecutors to drop charges filed against residents for breaching lockdown rules in late March and early April. However, the court noted few cases will likely be affected.

The court also rejected the claim that New Zealand’s Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield acted unlawfully when he banned congregating and shut down non-essential businesses in April.

New Zealand has fared much better during the pandemic than many other nations, in part due to early action taken by the government to lock down the country’s 1.7 million residents.

With Post wires