No COVID-19 case reported in New Zealand in past 11 days

New Zealand government is looking to lift restrictions as no COVID-19 case has been reported in the country in the past 11 days. According to the officials, the government is expected to lift the restriction from the next week. According to Reuters, an international news agency, Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand, said in a news conference that her country could move on to the Alert Level 1 next week.

During the Alert Level 1, there will not be any restrictions on gatherings and social events in the country. The government will also take back the orders of social distancing during Level 1. Ardern added that the territories of the country would remain closed. She said, “Our harsh but timely decisions produced great results for us. In some cases, we received better than expected results.”

The decision of lifting all restrictions will be taken by her cabinet on June 8. The cabinet meeting was previously scheduled on June 22. The country is currently working on a single coronavirus case. It is the 11th consecutive day when there is not any COVID-19 case reported in the country. The implementation of a strong lockdown in the country for 7 weeks is the main reason behind this success.

During the lockdown, most of the businesses remained closed in New Zealand. Apart from essential workers, all other workers were ordered to stay home. Ardern said, “We will be the first country in the world where life will be normalized that quickly.” Thousands of New Zealand citizens marched in the support of George Floyd yesterday. Floyd was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, United States.

Ardern said that she was also concerned about the death of Floyd in the police custody. She added that the demonstrators broke the rules during their march. Moreover, some European countries have also decided to ease the restrictions for their citizens. Many countries have opened their tourism industry. People were seen enjoying food at restaurants in Europe after two months.