Coronavirus in New Zealand: Prime Minister lifts all restrictions

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This Monday, June 8, New Zealand lifted all national restrictions that had been enacted to control the coronavirus, after the recovery of the last person who was still in solitary confinement.

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"  We are confident that we have eradicated transmission of the virus in New Zealand so far,  " said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in a televised speech, adding that her compatriots have "  united in an unprecedented way to defeat the virus  . " Border controls will remain in effect, however, said Ardern, who added that social distancing measures and restrictions on the number of people who can assemble are no longer necessary.

The South Pacific archipelago, which has a population of five million, has recorded 1,154 confirmed cases and 22 deaths. No new contamination has been identified for 17 days. It had been a week since there had been only one active case. The identity of the last patient has not been released, but it is believed to be a woman in her 50s who is linked to a chain of virus transmission in Auckland. Department of Health Director General Ashley Bloomfield announced Monday that the person has recovered and is no longer in solitary confinement.

"  Maintain vigilance  "

"  The fact that we have no active cases for the first time since February 28 is certainly an important milestone in our journey but, as we have said before, it will be essential to maintain vigilance against the Covid-19  ", Ashley Bloomfield said in a statement. New Zealand has been praised for its effective response to the coronavirus epidemic, which involved including strict confinement for seven weeks until May.

The health alert has been reduced to level 1, on a scale of 4, which means that theaters can reopen, as can discos, without any restriction on the number of customers. Sports events will no longer be obliged to be held behind closed doors, a major development for the local rugby federation, which will allow its “Super Rugby Aotearoa” competition to start in full stadiums.

"  We are incredibly proud, and grateful, to be the first professional sporting competition in the world in a position to allow our teams to play in front of their fans again,  " said New Zealand Rugby boss Mark Robinson. This competition is a tight version of Super Rugby which pitted franchises from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Argentina and Japan before its premature suspension in March because of the coronavirus epidemic.

"  We are ahead  "

The Aotearoa Super Rugby Championship will only bring together the five New Zealand franchises and is intended as a temporary substitute for multinational competition. Ardern noted that lifting the restrictions would help support the national economy. "  We are ahead of the economic recovery because this level 1 makes us one of the most open economies in the world, if not the most open,  " she said. She said the models showed that at level 1, the economy was operating at 96% of its potential, compared to only 63% at level 4.

( with AFP )

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