New Zealand city of Auckland prepares for lockdown as mystery COVID cases emerge

FILE PHOTO: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks during a joint press conference held with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison at Admiralty House in Sydney, Australia, February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File Photo

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealanders on Wednesday scrambled to stock up on essentials as the country's biggest city prepared to go into lockdown again, following new cases of the coronavirus that ended a 102-day record run without any new infections.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced overnight that she was shutting down Auckland after four new cases of COVID-19 were discovered in the city from the same family, despite the international borders' being shut to foreigners and returning New Zealanders put in mandatory quarantine.