New Zealand Removes All Lockdown Restrictions After Being Coronavirus-Free For 17 Days

New Zealand had withdrawn all of its coronavirus restrictions after no coronavirus case was recorded for the last two weeks. At midnight local time, the country moved to alert level one, which is the lowest of a four-tier system.

The reduced restrictions include no social distancing and no limiting of social gatherings but still places foreigners out of the borders.

Dancing for joy

According to BBC, the country's Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, told reporters that when she was told the nation was coronavirus free, she did "a little dance."

Ardern also stated that while New Zealand is currently in a safer and more stable position, a path back to pre-COVID life is still challenging to achieve. She added that the resolution of the whole nation placed in health response will now be utilized to start rebuilding the economy.

The prime minister also said that while not a complete achievement, the news comes as a milestone in the fight against the global pandemic. Ardern had no other words to her citizen other than a simple, "Thank you, New Zealand."

New Zealand pledged to an elimination strategy on March 23, a month after its reported first case. After a few days, Ardern announced the strick lockdown that the government had planned when the nation only had 102 positive cases and no deaths. The swift response has garnered the prime minister international praise, including that of the World Health Organization.

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The coronavirus response that the country implemented was vastly different to its usual pandemic plans, which is based on mitigating the spread and focuses on delaying the arrival of the virus into the country and followed by several measures to reduce the cases and deaths, as reported by The Lancet.

Strict implementation

A professor of the department of public health at the University of Otago, Michael Baker, has been acting as an adviser to the New Zealand Government on its coronavirus response plan.

Baker said that the strict lockdown which includes the closing of schools and non-essential workplaces, banning of social gatherings, and immense travel restrictions had all contributed to the decision of elimination.

The professor said he believes that it was the right decision to be determined and take strict measures in fighting the coronavirus.

Baker added that the crucial factors in considering an elimination strategy are having few cases and few deaths, as well as being able to reopen establishment much faster. He said that the alternative to that is trying to mitigate the spread of the infection and suppression, which he called grim.

Since the start of the pandemic, the country has recorded 1,154 confirmed cases and 22 deaths, which many have celebrated, as reported by Reuters.

Ardern, however, said that they expect to see cases again and that elimination is not one point in time, but rather, a sustained effort to control the coronavirus infection.

A lorry-driver based in Auckland, Patrick Weston said that every citizen is happy to have finally gone through the lockdown but noted that they are still nervous. Weston added that the biggest thing that people will be worried about is the economy, and how many people will be looking for jobs at the same time.