New Zealand achieves another feat as last COVID-19 patient gets discharged from hospital

New Zealand, on May 27, reached another milestone in its battle against the coronavirus pandemic. For the first time since the outbreak, there were no patients being treated for COVID-19 infection. The Jacinda Ardern led government has received global appreciation for effectively controlling the infection.

Speaking at a press conference, Dr. Ashley Bloomfield, the Director general of health announced, "Currently, there is nobody in the hospital with Covid-19 following the discharge of a person from Middlemore Hospital. We've had a number of people in the hospital -- never a big number, but I think this is the first time in a couple of months we haven't had someone in the hospital. That's another good position to be in."

'No deaths for fifth day' 

He further added that there were still 21 active cases in the nation of nearly 5 million people, but none of them was hospitalised. Talking about COVID-19 deaths, he said that it was the fifth consecutive day when the country did not report any fatalities. As per John Hopkins University, the pacific country has reported 1,504 cases till now, out of whom 21 have died.

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Last week, Prime Minister Jacinda Arden reportedly raised the prospect of citizens enjoying extra public holidays and a shorter working week. In a bid to kickstart the country’s post-lockdown economy Arden said that she wanted to ‘encourage nimble’ and creative ideas for recovery. After a seven-week lockdown, New Zealand was able to ‘eliminate’ the deadly coronavirus, however, the social distancing measures stalled the economy.

From moving to a four-day week to creating public holidays, Arden came up with various suggestions to boost the economy of the country. While speaking to international media reporters, Arden said that this is an ‘extraordinary time’ and the citizens should be willing to consider extraordinary ideas. Although, she further also added that she hasn’t ruled out any in or out as of yet. 

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Image credits: AP