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posted by martyb on Thursday June 11 2020, @12:27AM   Printer-friendly
from the what-can-the-rest-of-us-learn-from-this? dept.

New Zealand lifts lockdown as last coronavirus patient recovers:

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced New Zealand will lift its coronavirus lockdown allowing a return to a nearly normal life for the country's five million people, as health officials reported that the final person known to have contracted the infection had recovered.

Making the announcement at a news conference on Monday, Ardern said the government would not let down its guard over the virus and promised to rebuild an economy that has slowed because of the global pandemic.

[...] It has been 17 days since the last new case was reported in New Zealand, and Monday also marked the first time since late February that there have been no active cases.

[...] Officials were eager to stress that the coronavirus remained a concern given the growth of cases elsewhere in the world. Borders would remain closed, Ardern said, describing them as the "first line of defence". Only citizens and residents, with some exceptions, are currently allowed into the country.

[...] Elimination did not mean eradicating the virus permanently from New Zealand, but eliminating "chains of transmission" for at least 28 consecutive days after the last infected person left isolation, which would be on June 15, the ministry said.

[...] Experts say a number of factors have helped the nation wipe out the disease, including its isolated location, along with leadership shown by the prime minister, who imposed a strict lockdown early on during the outbreak.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @01:27PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @01:27PM (#1006273)

    For some folks, it appears the virus does not clear and they become a reservoir for it to live and fight another day.
    Case tracking works only for few cases.
    If they open to the rest of the world, they open to way more than a few cases.
    What's the betting line for the next outbreak?

    This virus seems too wide spread and resourceful to be shutdown for long.
    Without herd immunity from a large percentage of cases or vaccine, NZ and probably China are kind of like an explosion paused in mid KaBoom.

    Remember the classic sequence of light firecracker, and pause in the middle of the boom to fully appreciate to the situation on Loony Tunes?