New Zealand becomes ‘Coronavirus free’, lifts all restrictions including social distancing

As the world is stressed with the outbreak of novel Coronavirus, today is one of the happiest days in the history of New Zealand. Today New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden declared that with the recovery of the last patient the country has successfully won the battle against COVID-19. She admits she did a “little dance” when she first got the news.

No new cases have been reported in the past 17 days. Around 40,000 people were tested during this time taking the overall number of tested people to 3,00,000.

Advertisement

PM Arden said all the restrictions imposed to curb the spread of Coronavirus will be lifted. However, strict border controls will be followed. Only the citizens of the country and their immediate family are allowed to enter the country. It means nightclubs, theatres, and sporting events will recommence.

According to her, lifting the restrictions will help the economy. She said, “We now have a head start on economic recovery because at level one we become one of the most open, if not the most open, economies in the world.”

Ashley Bloomfield, New Zealand’s Director General of Health said, “Having no active cases for the first time since February 28 is certainly a significant mark in our journey but as we’ve previously said, ongoing vigilance against Covid-19 will continue to be essential.”

The PM has cautioned against the resurgence of the virus. She said, “We are confident we have eliminated the transmission of the virus in New Zealand for now, but elimination is not a point in time, it is a sustained effort.”

“We [are] almost certainly will see cases here again, and I want to say again, we will almost certainly see cases here again, and that is not a sign that we have failed, it is a reality of the virus. But if and when that occurs we have to make sure and we are, that we are prepared. We will need to move cautiously here. No one wants to jeopardize the gains New Zealand has made,” she added.

New Zealand has a population of 5 million out of which there were 1,154 confirmed cased and 22 death. The country imposed a lockdown on March 25 where people were supposed to stay at home.

This news comes as a relief in the time when there is more than 70 lakh COVID-19 positive cases worldwide with more than 4 lakh deaths.