New Zealand

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand will next week ease some of the world’s strictest lockdown measures taken to tackle the novel coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday, after a month of tight restrictions slowed the spread of the disease.

The Pacific nation of 5 million introduced its highest, level 4 lockdown measures in late March, shutting down offices, schools and all non-essential services including bars, restaurants, cafes and playgrounds.

15 April 2020; AFP: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Wednesday she will take a 20 percent pay cut in a symbolic act of solidarity with people struggling financially during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ardern said her personal salary, those of her fellow ministers and of top public servants would be slashed by a fifth for six months.

The move will see Ardern's annual pay fall from around NZ$470,000 (US$285,000) to NZ$376,000, costing her about NZ$47,000 over the six-month period.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Before New Zealand began its four-week lockdown to fight the coronavirus, a reporter asked Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern what would happen if an earthquake struck while everybody was sequestered in their homes.

“Why on earth would your mind go there?” Ardern quipped back.

Every year, the world contends with devastating typhoons, wildfires, tsunamis and earthquakes. The dynamic doesn’t change just because the globe also happens to be fighting a pandemic.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — About 100,000 tourists stuck in New Zealand since it began a lockdown last week were starting to fly to their home countries Friday.

The initial problem for many tourists had been that they were banned from catching domestic flights during the strict monthlong lockdown, which is aimed at preventing more coronavirus infections. The domestic flight ban prevented tourists from reaching the country’s main hub of Auckland Airport to catch international flights home.

WELLINGTON, Mar 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) – New Zealand reported 78 new confirmed and five probable cases of COVID-19 on Saturday morning, bringing the total number of infections to 451 in the country.

Director of New Zealand Civil Defence Emergency Management, Sarah Stuart-Black, gave the update.

Some 50 people have recovered, while 12 people are in hospital. Two people are in intensive care, one of whom is on a ventilator, said Stuart-Black.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The man who committed the worst atrocity in New Zealand’s modern history when he slaughtered 51 worshippers at two Christchurch mosques unexpectedly pleaded guilty to all charges Thursday.

The attacks targeting people praying at the mosques a year ago shocked the nation and prompted new laws banning the deadliest types of semi-automatic weapons. It also prompted global changes to social media protocols after the gunman livestreamed his attack on Facebook, where it was viewed by hundreds of thousands of people.

WELLINGTON, Mar 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) – New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, said today that, the country will shut down, in response to the community transmission of COVID-19, in two days.

Ardern announced, the country would adopt the most severe response, level four of New Zealand’s COVID-19 response system, in 48 hours.

“These decisions will place the most significant restriction on New Zealanders’ movements in modern history. This is not a decision taken lightly. But this is our best chance to slow the virus and to save lives,” Ardern said.

Wellington, Mar 16 (AFP/PTI) New Zealand's central bank slashed its base rate to a record low of 0.25 percent Monday, but economists said the surprise move was unlikely to prevent a coronavirus-induced recession.

The official cash rate was already at an all-time low of 1.0 percent and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand was not scheduled to make a monetary policy statement until March 25.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — People in the New Zealand city of Christchurch honored the 51 worshipers who were killed in a mass shooting a year ago in small but poignant ways Sunday, after a planned national memorial event was canceled due to fears it might spread the new coronavirus.

WELLINGTON, Mar 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) – New Zealand cancelled its national remembrance service for the first anniversary of the Christchurch mosque attacks, as the sixth COVID-19 case is confirmed.

The event, scheduled on Sunday afternoon, was expected to be attended by thousands of people travelling from around New Zealand and from overseas.

Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, said, while there was no “community transmission” of COVID-19 at this stage in New Zealand, the government was taking a precautionary approach.