New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has said that local community transmission of coronavirus has ended, rendering it effectively eliminated in the country.
On Sunday, one new case of Covid-19 was officially reported in New Zealand. Its total number of confirmed cases is under 1,500, with 19 deceased.
Ardern said that New Zealand had “won the battle” of preventing community transmission, saying that there was “no widespread undetected community transmission in New Zealand”.
Although she declared Covid-19 “currently” eliminated in New Zealand, Ardern warned that the country “must remain vigilant” to keep cases down and that new cases remained a possibility.
New Zealand was quick off the mark in enforcing its lockdown by closing its borders and sending all arrivals into the country into quarantine early on in the pandemic when the country only had a handful of cases.
A testing and contact tracing scheme was then put into place, while offices, schools and outdoor public spaces such as beaches and parks were closed on March 26, alongside non-essential businesses.
Ardern said that by taking such extensive action early, New Zealand had “avoided the worst”, with projections suggesting that the country could have seen 1,000 cases a day or more had the government not done so.
Given its progress in curbing the rate of transmission, the New Zealand government has outlined plans to ease its strict lockdown restrictions in phases, with some non-essential businesses able to reopen from midnight on Tuesday [12:00 BST on Monday].
Businesses such as restaurants, which had been completely closed, will be allowed to reopen for takeaway services.
However, large gatherings remain prohibited, shopping centres will still be closed, and most children cannot yet return to school.
Social distancing will continue to be encouraged, with New Zealanders told to remain two metres apart.
Furthermore, the country's border will not yet be reopened.
Ardern said: "We are opening up the economy, but we're not opening up people's social lives.”
