New Zealand PM tests COVID-positive two weeks before election

FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister and Labour Party Leader Chris Hipkins speaks at the New Zealand Labour Party's election campaign launch event in Auckland, New Zealand, September 2, 2023. REUTERS/David Rowland/File Photo

SYDNEY (Reuters) -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.