I did a little dance: Jacinda Ardern on New Zealand’s zero virus status
09 June, 2020
PM Jacinda Ardern did a ‘little victory dance’ in her living room as New Zealand now stands corona free, without even one patient in hospital or isolation.
New Zealand lifted all domestic coronavirus restrictions on Monday after its final COVID-19 patient was given the all clear, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealing she danced around her living room when told about the milestone.
Asked about her reaction after hearing the news, she replied: "I did so a little dance" with baby daughter Neve.
"She was caught a little by surprise but she joined in, having zero idea why I was dancing around the lounge."
"We are confident we have eliminated transmission of the virus in New Zealand for now," she said in a televised address, saying Kiwis had "united in unprecedented ways to crush the virus".
While strict border controls will stay set up, Ardern said restrictions such as social distancing and limits on public gatherings were no longer needed.
The South Pacific nation, with a population of five million, has already established 1,154 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 22 deaths.
There were no new infections for 17 days and, until Monday, just one single active case for greater than a week.
Details of the ultimate patient weren't released for privacy reasons nonetheless it is thought to be a female aged in her 50s who was simply associated with a cluster at an Auckland nursing home.
Ardern said the sacrifices created by New Zealanders, including a drastic seven-week lockdown that helped curb infection rates, have been rewarded now that there have been no active cases in the united states.
New Zealand's move right down to Level 1, the cheapest rating on its four-tier virus response system, means nightclubs can operate without dance floor restrictions and theatres will reopen.
It also means sports can proceed with crowds in the stands, a change New Zealand Rugby (NZR) said offered its Super Rugby Aotearoa competition the possibility to achieve a global first when it begins this weekend.
"We're incredibly proud, and grateful, to be the first professional sports competition on the globe to be in a posture to have our teams play before their fans again," NZR leader Mark Robinson said.
Even though many other sporting competitions around the globe have announced plans to restart, a large proportion will be played either without crowds or with numbers severely restricted.
On a broader level, Ardern said easing restrictions would help New Zealand's economy.
"We now have a head start financial recovery because at level one we become probably the most open, if not the most open, economies in the world," she said.
The prime minister said modelling showed the economy would operate at only 3.8 percent below normal at Level 1, compared with a 37 percent impairment at Level 4 lockdown.
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