New Zealand records another coronavirus-less day
NEW ZEALAND, (DAILY MAIL), 5 MAY 2020 - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has lauded New Zealanders for their commitment to lockdown after a second-straight day without a new case of COVID-19.
The number of ‘confirmed and probable’ infections remained at 1,487 after one suspected case ‘already known to us’ tested positive on Monday, the health ministry said.
The death toll was also unchanged at 20, while only four people are currently in hospital, none of them in intensive care.
On Tuesday, Ms Ardern spent time speaking with Australian leaders at the national cabinet, sharing information from their experiences fighting the spread of the virus.
While that prospect has many in both countries dreaming of a life beyond COVID-19 restrictions, Ms Ardern’s primary message to New Zealanders is one aimed at fighting complacency.
‘Achieving zero cases two days in a row is the result of New Zealanders demonstrating commitment and discipline to our goal,’ she said.
‘We know the virus can have a long tail and other cases can pop up ... so don’t do anything that snatches our potential victory at this point.’
New Zealand’s directorgeneral of health Ashley Bloomfield said the figures were a ‘cause for celebration’ and ‘symbolic of the effort that everybody has put in’ but warned that Kiwis would need to keep up ‘continuing vigilance’.
Prime minister Jacinda Ardern said Kiwis’ efforts had ‘put us at the front of the pack’ but warned them ‘not get ahead of ourselves’, telling them to ‘stick to our bubble and finish the job we started’.
New Zealand only confirmed its first case on February 26, but had shut its borders by March 19 and started imposing a fullscale lockdown on March 26.