Not The New Normal, Only Normal In New Zealand

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (Instagram / @ jacindaardern)

JAKARTA - New Zealand announces the good news. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stated that her country is ready to live a life without physical distance restrictions or other protocols that are still applied by many countries of the world. New Zealand is ready for a normal life. Not a new normal or another term that refers to an unusual order of life.

New Zealand is confident that it has succeeded in eliminating the corona virus from the country. So, the retail industry, hotels, and all public transportation will operate as before. This achievement makes New Zealand another pilot of many countries that are putting forward new arrangements in their preventive measures.

If there are any restrictive measures, Jacinda said, the only restriction they are planning is control over the border area. "We believe we have eliminated the spread of the virus in New Zealand for now. But the elimination was not done in one point in time. It is an ongoing effort," said Jacinta, written by Reuters, Monday, June 8.

The good news from the South Pacific country of about five million people comes when countries with large economies, such as Brazil, Britain, India, and the United States (US) are still struggling to deal with the spread of the virus. According to the latest data, New Zealand says there is not a single active case.

Not without reason. New Zealand is one of the countries with the strictest restrictions on human activity. New Zealand closed various businesses and forced everyone - except workers in the service sector and operating public facilities - to stay indoors. The fruit, in the next 75 days, New Zealand will live in normal conditions.

"Starting today, in the next 75 days, we are ready," said Jacinda in a press conference on Monday morning, June 7.

Zero cases

Since the first cases emerged in late February, this is the first time New Zealand has recorded zero active cases. The Ministry of Health reported total cases in New Zealand at 1,154, with 22 deaths. This is in line with New Zealand's promise that they will not only fight but also eliminate the coronavirus from their lives.

New Zealand believes transmission of the coronavirus will stop for a long time since the last cases were found. Meanwhile, in transition, New Zealand is designing an immediate detection and isolation scheme to anticipate future case findings. So, even if there are new cases, New Zealand will be ready.

New Zealanders welcome the return of their new normal life. Dominated by rugby lovers, New Zealanders look forward to returning to the stadium and watching the opening match of the domestic competition this weekend.

Jacinta also expressed happiness. He said he performed a "little dance" when he was told there were no active cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand. The dance that shocked her old daughter Neve, said Jacinda.

"He was a little surprised and he joined because he had no idea why I was dancing around the waiting room. However, he enjoyed it," said Jacinda.