Prime Minister New Zealand Jacinda Ardern on Monday claimed New Zealand had gained a major success against the spread of the COVID-19, because the country began a phased exit from lockdown.
“There is no widespread, undetected community transmission in New Zealand,” Ardern declared. “We have won that battle.”
After nearly 5 weeks at the most Level Four restrictions — with only essential services in operation — the country will move to Level 3 late on Monday.
That will permit some businesses, takeaway food shops, and schools to open up.
But Ardern warned there was no certainty regarding once all transmission will be eliminated, permitting a return to normal life.
Everyone desires to “bring back the social contact that we all miss”, she said, “but to do it confidently we’d like to maneuver slowly and we need to move cautiously.”
The easing of restrictions came as New Zealand, a nation of 5 million individuals, reported only 1 new case of COVID-19 within the past 24 hours, taking the full to 1,122 with 19 deaths.
