All restrictions on people and businesses, other than strict border controls, to be lifted
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Adern at a news conference at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, on June 8 2020. Picture: BLOOMBERG/MARK COOTE
The South Pacific nation earlier reported that the last of its coronavirus patients has recovered, making it one of the few countries in the world to have successfully eradicated the pathogen and the first among those that suffered a sizeable outbreak. The seven-week lockdown ended on May 14 and the cabinet decided on Monday it is safe to lower the nation’s alert level to 1, meaning there will be no limitations on any businesses, domestic travel, public gatherings or sports events. People will only be asked to keep track of where they’ve been to aid contact tracing if future cases emerge.
But it is not a foregone conclusion that Ardern will sweep to victory at the September 19 vote, with unemployment expected to soar in coming months. “Confidence has a huge impact on both consumer spending and investment activity. And there is already some evidence of household expenditure picking up in excess of our expectations,” he said.
New Zealand is also in talks with Australia to open a so-called travel bubble, though Ardern said on Monday that it will “need to act cautiously” as Australia still has community transmission of the virus.
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