The prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, stated that the country has stopped the widespread, undetected community transmission of COVID-19, as tough lockdown restrictions are scheduled to ease on April 27.
Ardern said that New Zealand had avoided the worst in the coronavirus pandemic but they still must continue to fight the virus. She said that there is no widespread undetected community transmission in New Zealand and they have won the battle. But she is still asking the public to remain vigilant if the country wants to keep the situation that way.
New Zealand's lockdown
On April 27, New Zealand will lift its level-4 lockdown which has been in place for more than four weeks. During that time, almost all businesses have been closed, along with schools with the people who have been asked to remain in their homes for all but grocery store visits and short walks.
The prime minister said that there was no way of knowing what may have happened without the level-4 lockdown. However, she warned that in level 3, there were new risks, namely people coming into more contact with others.
Level 3 means that retailers, restaurants, and schools will be allowed to reopen on a smaller scale. Schools will reopen on April 29 for children up to Year 10 who can't study from home, or whose parents need to go back to work.
Workers will also be able to resume on-site work, provided that they have a COVID-19 control plan, with appropriate health and safety and physical distancing measures. On April 28, it is expected that one million people will return to work. However, Ardern warned the public of bringing too many people into expanded family bubbles.
Ardern reminded people that the government will reopen the economy, but they will not reopen the social lives of the citizens yet. Ashely Bloomfield, the director-general of health, stated that the transmission of the virus had been eliminated. This does not mean that they have zero cases but that the health officials knew where all new cases were coming from.
Low transmission rate
The transmission rate in New Zealand is now under 0.4 compared to the average overseas transmission rate of 2.5. The transmission rate is the number of people each infected person can pass the virus to.
Bloomfield said that COVID-19 was a tricky virus and that New Zealanders needed to remain vigilant. He reported one more coronavirus-related death on April 27. The nation's 19th victim was a woman in her 90s.
Ardern said that New Zealand would remain at level 3 for two weeks before the cabinet decided on whether they can move to level 2. She added that she was hopeful that New Zealand and Australia might be able to create a trans-Tasman bubble at some time in the future.
Despite the optimistic numbers, bot Ardern and Bloomfield warned against complacency. Ardern said that in order to succeed the country must hunt down the last few cases of the virus. A contract tracing app for COVIF-19 would also be available in the next few days.
Related Article:More Than 700 Killed in Iran for Fake Coronavirus Cure
