New Zealand eradicates coronavirus

New Zealand has eradicated the coronavirus from its shores after health officials reported on Monday that the final person known to have been infected had recovered.

The news swiftly led to the country’s government announcing all forms of public events can again take place without limitations or social distancing guidelines.

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 there had been no active cases.

Health officials caution that new cases could be imported into the country, which has closed its borders to everybody but citizens and residents, with some exceptions.

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said it was a pleasing development.

“Having no active cases for the first time since February 28 is certainly a significant mark in our journey but as we’ve previously said, ongoing vigilance against Covid-19 will continue to be essential,” Dr Bloomfield said.

The New Zealand government responded by removing all restrictions on public gatherings, meaning, among other factors, sport stadiums will again be able to hold fans without regulations about social distancing.

Experts say a number of factors have helped the nation of five million wipe out the disease.

Its isolated location in the South Pacific gave it vital time to see how outbreaks spread in other countries, and prime minister Jacinda Ardern acted decisively by imposing a strict lockdown early in New Zealand’s outbreak.

Just over 1,500 people contracted the virus in New Zealand, including 22 who died.

In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region:

— South Korea reported 38 new cases, most of them in the Seoul region, where authorities are trying to stem transmissions among e-commerce workers, door-to-door sellers and people who went out amid loosened social distancing. Health minister Park Neunghoo called for officials to examine supplies of testing equipment in case infections continue to increase. He also called for education officials to double-check prevention measures. Schools fully reopened on Monday, with the last grades returning to classes in the final phase of the reopening.

— China reported four new cases, all of them brought from outside the country. China has officially announced a total of 4,634 deaths out of 83,040 total cases since the virus was first detected in the central Chinese industrial city of Wuhan late last year. China has increasingly opened up with the sharp reduction of cases, and officials in Beijing on Monday said the city was reopening the office where citizens can bring complaints and petitions.