08 June 2020•Update: 08 June 2020
ANKARA
New Zealand prime minister on Monday announced her country had no active cases of the novel coronavirus and that the country is moving to lift almost all restrictive measures after midnight today.
Speaking at a news conference, Jacinda Ardern said the country has no new case of community transmission.
"We have no more new cases of COVID-19 and now we are moving to alert level 1 from level 2 from today midnight. Under level 1, there would be effectively no restrictions on day-to-day life and business, but New Zealand's borders would remain closed," Ardern told the news conference aired on state-run Radio New Zealand.
Residents arriving in the country will still have to quarantine for two weeks and they would be tested twice during the period.
During the alert Level 1, everyone can return to work, school, sports and domestic travel, and can get together with as many people as they want.
In a statement, the Health Ministry also said the country has no more active cases of the coronavirus and that the last patient of COVID-19 has successfully recovered.
According to the ministry, one active case of the virus in the country was detected on May 22 and not a single case has since been reported.
The total number of cases in the country stands at 1,504 with 22 deaths.
Since first appearing in China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 188 countries and regions.
The US, Brazil, Russia, and several European countries are currently the hardest hit in the world.
The pandemic has killed over 402,800 people worldwide, with more than 7.01 million confirmed cases and over 3.14 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.
*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid
