New Zealand’s Prime Minister postponed the country’s general election by a month to October 17 as the city of Auckland remains in lockdown due to coronavirus outbreak. The election was scheduled for September 19.

“Ultimately, the 17th of October … provides sufficient time for parties to plan around the range of circumstances we will be campaigning under,” Jacinda Ardern said at a news conference.

“We are all in the same boat. We are all campaigning in the same environment,” she said.

New Zealand recorded 9 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. There have now been a total of 1,280 cases in the country and 22 deaths.