New Zealand reports two new cases week after declaring it eliminated coronavirus

At least 2 new cases of the novel coronavirus have been detected in New Zealand for the first time in 24 days, as only last week, the country had declared that it eliminated coronavirus. The two patients are the imported cases who returned from the UK, the women in their 30s the other in her 40s who had travelled from London (via Doha and Brisbane) to Auckland on June 7, New Zealand health ministry said in a press conference.  

As per local media reports, the two women have been isolated in Auckland's Novotel Ellerslie hotel until June 13 and had applied for compassionate exemption after a parent died due to COVID-19 disease in the UK. They then were given the approval to travel cross-country in a private vehicle to Wellington. Further, reports stated, one of the patients had mild symptoms, while the other was asymptomatic as they both tested positive in the Wellington test center and have been quarantined.  

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Reminder pandemic is not over

The fact that one of them was "symptom-free" highlights the need for being cautious about asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic people, Epidemiologist Dr. Arindam Basu from the University of Canterbury was quoted as saying, according to a report. Overall, risks of new infections emerging within the community and the emergence of clusters still remain low but one cannot be careful enough. This is a reminder that the pandemic is not over and none of us are safe until all of us are safe, he further added.  

As early as last week, New Zealand lifted all social and economic restrictions barring the border control and had declared that the nation had zero active coronavirus cases. As per reports, New Zealand became the first country ever in the world to restore pre-pandemic normal with most businesses operational. Earlier, in a news conference, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had warned that new cases might emerge in the future as the New Zealanders returned home, while some were allowed to enter the country on the special grants.  As of June 16, UK has recorded total of 296,857 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, as it is the fifth-worst impacted country globally, with 41,736 deaths. Meanwhile, New Zealand detected over 1,506 cases of COVID-19 and 22 deaths so far.  

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