New Zealand says the transmission of the coronavirus has stopped in the country, effectively eliminating the virus.
With new cases in the single numbers in recent days, one further contamination on Sunday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the virus has been “currently” eliminated, the BBC reports.
But government officials warn against complacency and say this does not mean that new cases of the coronavirus will come to an end.
The news comes just before New Zealand eases its strictest social restrictions.
Some non-essential business, healthcare and education activities can be resumed from Tuesday. Most people still have to stay at home and avoid all social interactions.
“We open the economy, but we don’t open people’s social lives,” Ardern said in the daily government briefing.
New Zealand has reported fewer than 1,500 confirmed or probable cases of coronavirus and 19 deaths to date.