Wellington, Oct. 7, (dpa/GNA) – New Zealand has “squashed” coronavirus once again and now has no active community cases of Covid-19, Health Minister Chris Hipkins announced on Wednesday.
The country celebrated 100 days with no known community transmission of Covid-19, before another outbreak was detected in August.
Since then, 186 community cases had been found but all had now recovered, Hipkins said in a statement.
“This is a big milestone. New Zealanders have once again through their collective actions squashed the virus.”
He warned New Zealanders not to be complacent, urging “constant vigilance and team work” to stay on top of the virus.
“While having stamped out Covid-19 in our community for the second time is a real achievement that New Zealanders should be proud of, there is an ongoing risk that further community cases will emerge in the future,” Hipkins said.
The August cluster will be officially deemed “closed” in a month’s time, if there have been no new cases for two incubation periods, Hipkins said.
The country reported three new cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, however all were detected at the border.
It has now been 12 days since the last new case of Covid-19 was detected in the community.
The country has reported a total of 1,505 cases, with a death toll of 25.
GNA