Auckland's measles outbreak has caused the cancellation of a huge rugby league competition.
The competition would have been held in Takanini, South Auckland and hosted 26 schools from across New Zealand.
New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) announced its decision in a statement on Friday.
"Several of the schools involved have recorded measles cases among their students in the past week," said NZRL.
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NZRL said because South Auckland has the most prevalent rates of measles, with 72 percent of cases confirmed by Counties Manukau DHB, the risk is too high.
"We do not want to risk potentially exposing others travelling for the tournament."
The CEO of NZRL says the circumstances are "unfortunate."
"Our Secondary School's tournament is one of our most exciting events, but [cancellation] is the only decision that can be made under these circumstances," said Greg Peters.
The head of NZRL's medical advisory agreed there was no other option.
"The vaccination status of the participants in this tournament is uncertain therefore the risk of transmission is very high. It is not appropriate for NZRL to host the tournament under these circumstances.
Auckland currently has 731 confirmed cases of measles.
Newshub.
