VIRUS FREE ZONE
NEW Zealand is now free of the coronavirus and will lift its strict ten-week lockdown from today.
People will now be able to gather in normal numbers for weddings and funerals while sports events are to resume.
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Bars and restaurants have been gradually reopening in the past fortnight but there will now be no social distancing restrictions.
The country’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said "Thank you, New Zealand" as she hailed the "milestone" though she added that “the job is not done”.
"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," she said.
The final coronavirus patient, a woman in her 50s, recorded no symptoms for 48 hours, before being confirmed as recovered at St Margaret's Hospital and Rest Home in Auckland on Monday.
The South Pacific nation of about five million people has been able to tackle the virus with 75 days of restrictions while remaining in strict lockdown.
During that time most businesses were shut and everyone except essential workers had to stay at home.
There has also been intensive testing and strict border controls that have all but sealed off the country.
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There were no active cases in New Zealand for the first time since the virus arrived in late February, the health ministry said.
Ardern said she did a "little dance" when she was told there were no more active Covid-19 cases in New Zealand, surprising her two-year-old daughter, Neve.
"She was caught a little by surprise and she joined it having absolutely no idea why I was dancing around the lounge. She enjoyed it nevertheless," the 39-year-old leader said.
Border controls would remain and everyone entering the country would be tested, Ardern said.
New Zealand has reported 1,504 infections and 22 deaths from the disease.
Rugby fans in a nation mad about the sport particular were looking forward to attending stadiums to watch the opening games of the domestic competition this weekend.
But opposition parties have criticised Ardern's decision to keep restrictions for so long despite there being no new cases for over two weeks.
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The country’s economy expected to sink into recession as tourism has all but dried up.
Ardern did not commit to a timeline for a proposed “travel bubble” to open with Australia, although the tourism industries in both countries have been pushing for it.
"We will need to move cautiously here. No one wants to jeopardize the gains New Zealand has made," she said.
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