Jacinda Ardern maintains cool as 5.9 magnitude hits during press conference; WATCH

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was interrupted by an earthquake midway as she announced the country’s plan for the future after the COVID-19 lockdown. While an earthquake of 5.9 magnitude rattled the parliament in Wellington on Friday, 22 October during Ardern’s press conference, New Zealand PM kept her cool. The shaking, as captured in a video that was posted on social media, began midway through a reporter’s question in the press conference.

Ardern even gripped her podium when the shaking started and following its end, she turned to the reporter and said, “Ah, sorry, a slight distraction – would you mind repeating that question?” GeoNet said that an earthquake of magnitude 5.9 hit at a depth of 210 kilometres in the central North Island. GeoNet takes reports from the public of earthquakes, and it said that 25,000 people had reported shaking. No major damage was reported in the country. 

Notably, New Zealand experiences small earthquakes regularly and most of them are in Wellington. GeoNet has located over 1,350 earthquakes in the Kiwi nation with a magnitude of more than 4 in just last year. The country is no stranger to earthquakes because it is located just on the edge of The Ring of Fire, which is a geographically identified area with active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes. 

What was the press conference about?

The earthquake hit Wellington when Ardern was delivering a press conference on New Zealand’s new strategy regarding Coronavirus. As per ABC News, New Zealand PM said that the country would end its strict COVID-19 lockdown measures only when at least 90% of its eligible population is fully vaccinated against Coronavirus. Reportedly, around 68% of eligible citizens in the country are fully vaccinated and 86% have received just one dose. "Ultimately we have balanced the desire to re-open quickly while continuing to keep people safe," Ardern said in the conference as quoted by the news outlet.

IMAGE: AP