New Zealand records 100 days without a new domestic coronavirus case

Jacinda Ardern.
(Image credit: Michael Bradley/AFP via Getty Images)

New Zealand's Ministry of Health on Sunday reported that the country hasn't had any new cases of coronavirus due to community transmission in 100 days.

This is a "significant milestone," Director-General of Heath Dr. Ashley Bloomfield said, but he warned that people "can't afford to be complacent. We have seen overseas how quickly the virus can re-emerge and spread in places where it was previously under control, and we need to be prepared to quickly stamp out any future cases in New Zealand."

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New Zealand reacted quickly to the pandemic, going into lockdown on March 25. Since June 8, the country has been at Alert Level 1, meaning the disease is contained inside New Zealand but "uncontrolled overseas," CBS News reports. Under Alert Level 1 guidelines, schools and workplaces are open and there are no restrictions on gatherings or domestic travel.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.