New Zealand health authorities confirmed on Monday that the last positive case has now been recovered, and there are no new cases reported since the past 17 days.
The south Pacific nation is among the very few countries in the world to have successfully made an effort in controlling the disease.
According to the Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said in the statement, “Having no active cases for the first time since February 28 is certainly a significant mark in our journey but as we have previously said, ongoing vigilance against Covid-19 will continue to be essential.”
Soon, prime minister of New Zealand Jacinda Arden is expected to announce if the country would ease its social distancing measures and economic restrictions or even opening up its borders for travel.
The country with five million population has been under lockdown for the past seven weeks. According to Reuters, the country pursued an elimination strategy to beat coronavirus, rather than just aiming to contain the disease. However, the health authorities remained cautious while declaring it as a Covid-free nation.
This is a developing story