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WELLINGTON: Coronavirus restrictions in New Zealand’s largest city will be lifted this week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday (October 5) when she expressed confidence that a second wave of coronavirus infections in Auckland has been almost eliminated.
The city will go to Alert Level 1 starting at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, joining the rest of the country, after reporting no new cases in the Auckland group for 10 consecutive days.
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“Now there is a 95 percent chance that the group will be eliminated,” Ardern told a news conference. “COVID-19 will be with us for many months. But we still have to mark these milestones.”
New Zealand, a nation of 5 million, appeared to have eliminated community transmission of COVID-19 earlier this year following a harsh national lockdown that was subsequently lifted.
The new Auckland outbreak, detected in August, was the largest the country had seen with 179 linked cases, prompting Ardern to tighten restrictions in Auckland.
“It felt longer and lasted into what was already beginning to feel like a very long year,” he said. But despite this, Auckland residents and New Zealanders stuck to the plan that has already worked twice and beat the virus again, “Ardern said.
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The easing of the measures means that there will be no limit of 100 people at meetings in Auckland, and there will be no physical distancing rules in bars and restaurants.
The country registered a new case on Monday, involving a New Zealander returning from abroad, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1,499, including 25 deaths.
Ardern’s success in containing the coronavirus has played an important role in placing her firmly in the lead in the polls for the October 17 general election.
Despite this, he cautioned that success should not be taken for granted: “A resurgence of the virus is not our only concern, the resurgence of complacency is up there too.”
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