New Zealand, COVID-19 free – Prime Minister

NEW Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her government will lift restrictions now that the last-known COVID-19 patient has recovered. Prime Minister Ardern said although transmission of the virus has been “eliminated,” it will take work to keep it that way.

  Ms Ardern said told reporters she did “a little dance” when she was told the country no longer had any active virus cases.

  Ms Ardern said: “While we’re in a safer, stronger position there’s still no easy path back to pre-Covid life, but the determination and focus we have had on our health response will now be vested in our economic rebuild”.

“While the job is not done, there is no denying this is a milestone. So can I finish with a very simple Thank you, New Zealand?”

  A statement from the Ministry of Health said the last remaining case, a woman from Auckland, has now been symptom-free for 48 hours and is regarded as recovered.

  Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said the patient was now able to leave isolation and that having no active cases for the first time since February was “a significant mark in our journey.”

  It’s been 17 days since New Zealand’s last new case was reported, while 40,000 people have been tested in that time.

With New Zealand’s last known COIVD-19 patient recovered, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the country’s social distancing restrictions will be dropped within a few hours.

  The country’s strict border restrictions will remain in place, including managed isolation and quarantine for travelers.

But the rest of the country’s coronavirus measures will be lifted by midnight on Monday (1200 UTC) — meaning that public and private events can resume without curbs while the retain and hospitality industries can operate without social distancing measures.