New Zealand – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden announced on Wednesday that the country must prepare for new coronavirus outbreaks as the pandemic spreads globally but will not drop its elimination strategy if community transmission was discovered.
Arden added that the epidemic was now “exploding” outside New Zealand and countries that had been models in the fight against Covid-19 had now experienced further community outbreaks.
The government released a new framework on how it intends to fight the virus in the event of new cases, with elimination still the central strategy.
“No system is 100% fool proof and around the world we are seeing even the most rigorous measures being tested by the virus,” said Arden.
New Zealand last reported a case of community transmission two-and-a-half ago. The country has recorded 22 deaths from nearly 1,200 confirmed cases as of Wednesday.
