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New Zealanders obstructed the path through fast-food restaurant lines on Tuesday when they began venturing outside at the end of a strict period of coronavirus blockade.
Some 400,000 people were expected to leave their homes to return to their offices or resume recreational activities such as playing golf, surfing, fishing, and hunting as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern eased the closure, one of the strictest taxes anywhere in the world in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
As of Tuesday, Wellington reported two new cases in the country, bringing the total number of infections to 1,124 with 19 deaths among its 5 million citizens.
Prime Minister Ardern reduced the coronavirus threat level from Level 4, which closed economic activity to all less essential services, to Level 3, which limits citizens to local travel and keeps shopping malls, hairdressers and others closed. business for at least two more weeks. However, with Tier 3, the construction industry reopens, and take-out restaurants are back in business. Some schools have also reopened.
New Zealand’s response to the outbreak, which includes an extensive testing and tracking regime, has received praise from the international community. But Ardern warns that the country must ensure that “we do not allow the virus to escape again and cause a new wave of cases and deaths.”
