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Merge 104.8 | 09 June 2020
New Zealand has become one of the first countries in the world to declare itself free from the COVID-19 novel coronavirus.
As the BBC reports, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Monday [June 8] that the country has had no confirmed new cases of COVID-19 for the last two weeks.
Prime Minister Ardern has also lifted all previously-implemented COVID-19 restrictions in the nation — including social distancing and gatherings. However, the country has not yet re-opened its borders to foreign travelers and citizens returning from abroad must still undergo a 14-day quarantine.
New Zealand has been in lockdown due to COVID-19 since March 25 and, as per the BBC, Prime Minister Ardern has stated that: “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 total of 1,154 cases of COVID-19 were registered in New Zealand, along with 22 fatalities since the start of the pandemic, with the country lauded globally for its response to the outbreak.
Source: BBC
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