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Good evening John,
There
are two pieces of good news that I’m happy to be able to share with
you today. First, there are now no active cases of COVID-19 in New
Zealand. Second, we announced today that as of midnight tonight, New
Zealand will move down from Alert Level 2 to Alert Level
1.
This means that New Zealanders can
return to a life that feels as normal as it can in the time of a
global pandemic. There will be no more physical distancing. No more
gathering limits, and no more restrictions for hospitality. It means
retail is back without limitations, and public transport and travel
across the country will be fully opened up.
And, it is thanks to you. We were
only able to make this decision because over the last 11 weeks, our
team of 5 million has managed to achieve something that many believed
would not be possible - we stayed home, we broke the chain of
transmission and together, we saved thousands of lives.
When faced with the threat of a
virus that was spreading rapidly around the world, taking people’s
lives and taking people’s livelihoods, we knew that we had to go hard
and to go early to protect New Zealand from the same kind of
devastation we were seeing elsewhere.
And together, we’ve done just that.
As we return to a life which looks much more normal, there is - of
course - much still to do. We must also remain mindful of the global
situation and recognise that the virus will be in our world for some
time to come. We are confident we have eliminated the transmission of
the virus in New Zealand for now, but elimination is not a point in
time – it is a sustained effort. We almost certainly will see cases
here again, but when that occurs it will not mean we have failed. We
are prepared for future cases.
The global economic impacts of
COVID-19 will, of course, be felt for some time, and as a Government,
implementing our economic recovery plan to rebuild the economy is our
top priority. We all have a part to play in this. I encourage you to
buy, play and experience New Zealand-made. Consider it an extra form
of support, to visit our country, buy our local products and support
our local businesses.
Over the coming week, and beyond,
I will be announcing more of the steps we’re taking to support
jobs across the country, back our businesses and get the
economy moving. But for now, I want to leave you with a final
thank you, for helping us reach this milestone.
Thank you,
Jacinda
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