New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern address a press conference at the post-cabinet media conference at Parliament, in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, April 20, 2020. Ardern on Monday announced the country will remain in a strict lockdown for another week before easing the rules to allow some parts of the economy to reopen. (Mark Mitchell/Pool photo via AP)
New Zealand can possibly lift its remaining coronavirus restrictions next week, said Jacinda Ardern, said the Prime Minister of the country.
Social distancing measures and limits on gatherings will no longer apply if the country moves to alert level 1, said the Prime Minister earlier this week.
The country is currently looking to eliminate the virus domestically.
However, Ms. Ardern said that the borders of the country will remain closed.
The Prime Minister said:
Our strategy of go hard, go early has paid off … and in some cases, beyond expectations.
New Zealand recorded no new cases of the coronavirus for an 11th consecutive day on Tuesday, said the authorities.
Meanwhile, there was just one active case in the country.
The man, who is in his 50s, is from the Auckland region and is believed to be capable of recovering as he has not shown any deadly symptoms for 2 straight days.
New Zealand imposed a strict lockdown in the country, which most businesses shut and everyone except essential workers told to stay at home.
There were just 102 infections and no deaths linked to the coronavirus.
The country has been praised for its aggressive approach towards controlling the coronavirus pandemic.
The remaining coronavirus lockdown measures are going to be reviewed on June 8, 2020, 2 weeks earlier than it was planned.
The Prime Minister said:
We are exceeding our expectations in terms of our progress, which is a fantastic position to be in. We will be one of the first countries in the world to return to this level of normality so quickly.
In the entire country, New Zealand has only registered 1,504 cases of the coronavirus.
The death toll of the country is only at 22.
On Monday, thousands of New Zealand residents took the streets to protest the death of George Floyd, despite the country still having the social distancing restrictions.
Talking about the death of George Floyd, the Prime Minister said she does not have any problems with peaceful protests.
She added:
I don’t want to stop peaceful protests… but rules are there to protect people.
All countries should follow what New Zealand did with their battle against the coronavirus pandemic.