New Zealand Declares Itself Free from Coronavirus
2020-06-09
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1New Zealand has declared itself free from the coronavirus and lifted all virus-related restrictions within the country.
2Health officials said Monday the last known person infected with coronavirus had recovered.
3Border controls will remain in place in an effort to prevent infected people from bringing the virus into New Zealand.
4All other restrictions will end, including social distancing and limits on economic activity and public gatherings.
5New Zealand's 75 days of restrictions included about seven weeks of a strict lockdown in which most businesses were shut and everyone except necessary workers had to stay home.
6The South Pacific nation, with a population of five million, reported 1,500 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Twenty-two people died.
7Officials said it had been 17 days since the last new coronavirus case was reported.
8During this period, about 40,000 people were tested for the virus.
9Overall, New Zealand tested about 300,000 people.
10Monday marked the first time since late February that there have been no active coronavirus cases.
11Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a news conference she was "confident" that New Zealand had halted the spread of the virus for now.
12She praised the people of New Zealand for uniting "in unprecedented ways to crush the virus."
13But she added that the country must be prepared to deal with a possible return.
14"We almost certainly will see cases here again," Ardern said.
15"And that is not a sign that we have failed, it is a reality of this virus."
16She said the most important thing is for the country to stay prepared.
17More cases are likely to be imported as people enter the country.
18For now, New Zealand's border generally remains closed to all but citizens and residents.
19Everyone who does enter is required to go into quarantine.
20Experts say a number of things helped New Zealand get control of COVID-19 while many other nations have struggled.
21The country's faraway position in the South Pacific gave officials time to see the serious effects the virus had in other countries.
22Ardern also acted quickly to order a strict lockdown across the country.
23Beating the virus will not quickly end the economic pain New Zealand has suffered.
24Thousands of people have lost their jobs.
25The tourism industry, which makes up about 10 percent of the economy, was particularly hard hit.
26But for many, Monday was a day to celebrate.
27Ardern said when she heard there were no more active cases, she did a little dance in her living room in front of her two-year-old daughter Neve.
28Ardern said the child had no idea what was going on, but was still happy to join in the dance.
29I'm Bryan Lynn.
1New Zealand has declared itself free from the coronavirus and lifted all virus-related restrictions within the country. 2Health officials said Monday the last known person infected with coronavirus had recovered. 3Border controls will remain in place in an effort to prevent infected people from bringing the virus into New Zealand. All other restrictions will end, including social distancing and limits on economic activity and public gatherings. 4New Zealand's 75 days of restrictions included about seven weeks of a strict lockdown in which most businesses were shut and everyone except necessary workers had to stay home. 5The South Pacific nation, with a population of five million, reported 1,500 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Twenty-two people died. 6Officials said it had been 17 days since the last new coronavirus case was reported. During this period, about 40,000 people were tested for the virus. Overall, New Zealand tested about 300,000 people. 7Monday marked the first time since late February that there have been no active coronavirus cases. 8Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a news conference she was "confident" that New Zealand had halted the spread of the virus for now. She praised the people of New Zealand for uniting "in unprecedented ways to crush the virus." 9But she added that the country must be prepared to deal with a possible return. "We almost certainly will see cases here again," Ardern said. "And that is not a sign that we have failed, it is a reality of this virus." 10She said the most important thing is for the country to stay prepared. 11More cases are likely to be imported as people enter the country. For now, New Zealand's border generally remains closed to all but citizens and residents. Everyone who does enter is required to go into quarantine. 12Experts say a number of things helped New Zealand get control of COVID-19 while many other nations have struggled. The country's faraway position in the South Pacific gave officials time to see the serious effects the virus had in other countries. Ardern also acted quickly to order a strict lockdown across the country. 13Beating the virus will not quickly end the economic pain New Zealand has suffered. Thousands of people have lost their jobs. The tourism industry, which makes up about 10 percent of the economy, was particularly hard hit. 14But for many, Monday was a day to celebrate. Ardern said when she heard there were no more active cases, she did a little dance in her living room in front of her two-year-old daughter Neve. Ardern said the child had no idea what was going on, but was still happy to join in the dance. 15I'm Bryan Lynn. 16Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Hai Do was the editor. 17We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 18_______________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20lockdown - n. the shutting down of society to fight a contagious disease 21confident - adj. having a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something 22unprecedented - adj. never having happened before 23quarantine - n. the period of time during which a person or animal that has a disease or that might have a disease is kept away from others to prevent the disease from spreading 24tourism - n. the business of providing hotels, restaurants, entertainment, etc., for people who are traveling