With Zero Active Cases, New Zealand Declares It’s Free Of COVID-19 And Lifts Restrictions
It’s been 17 whole days since the last case of COVID-19 was registered in New Zealand. Now, with that last patient recovering and zero active cases, the island-country is lifting nearly all of its remaining strict restrictions as it declares itself virus-free.
“We are confident we have eliminated transmission of the virus in New Zealand for now, but elimination is not a point in time, it is a sustained effort,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a news conference earlier today. In fact, she said the country would “almost certainly” see more cases in the future.
New Zealand implemented one of the toughest lockdowns on the planet, but will now be lifting remaining restrictions, effectively nearly immediately.
Ardern announced that, as of midnight, the country would be moving to Alert Level 1, the lowest it’s been since the virus landed on New Zealand’s shores earlier this year.
Meanwhile, isolation and quarantine will continue to operate when it comes to the nation’s borders.
???????????????? We’ve done it NEW ZEALAND!! @jacindaardern‘s announcement is music to our ears ????
We’ll have crowds for Investec #SuperRugbyAotearoa from Round 1⃣ ???????? https://t.co/cZeOEA296u pic.twitter.com/JeQgBfcMkg
— Super Rugby (@SuperRugbyNZ) June 8, 2020
New Zealand has consistently been a bastion of how to deal with COVID-19 for a number of countries around the world, with its isolated South Pacific location definitely helping it assess the situation and isolate itself more effectively.
With a population of nearly five million, New Zealand only registered 1,500 total cases of COVID-19 and 22 deaths. Today’s registering of zero active cases – along with the recovery of its last active patient – marks a first for the country since late February.
“I do 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 this virus,” Ardern reiterated. “But if and when that occurs, we have to make sure that we are prepared. And we are.”
There have been a total of 7,026,732 cases of COVID-19 in the world, and over 400,000 deaths. The US alone accounts for nearly two million cases of the virus.
Featured Image Original Photo by Lawrence Murray
What do you make of New Zealand’s achievement?
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