New Zealand Coronavirus Update: Businesses Open As No New COVID-19 Cases Reported

Much to the delight of its citizens, New Zealand Thursday went to Alert Level 2, which says "all businesses can open to customers if they can do it safely," and is an indication of its success in suppressing COVID-19.

The New Zealand government has reported no new coronavirus cases for past three days, leading to its decision to allow most businesses to reopen. The reopening is occurring quickly and local media reports the rapid return to business of malls, hair dressers, barbershops and restaurants by Thursday morning.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, however, now has to confront the awesome task of resurrecting an economy shattered by the pandemic and is proposing a massive government spending spree to attain this aim.

Level 2 means travel among regions is allowed. Schools can also reopen. It does, however, limit social gatherings to 10 people at maximum and strongly urges physical distancing.

Widespread testing is still taking place among the country's population of five million to keep a lid on COVID-19. New Zealand began easing its strict lockdown measures late last month amid positive signs the spread of the disease was abating.

As of Friday morning, New Zealand ranked 86th among the countries most infected by COVID-19. It had 1,497 confirmed cases and 21 deaths, according to Worldometer.

Ardern is confident enough about the country's success in stifling the pandemic to declare New Zealand has "won (the) battle" of widespread COVID-19 community transmission.

"We went hard and we went early," she said during a press conference this week. "We got control of the virus, and now we're in a position where we can safely step out of those controls and open our economy back up."

Ardern, however, warned New Zealand will pay a high price for the damage inflicted on its economy by the disease. She revealed a recovery plan that includes the country accumulating significant amounts of debt as it borrows money to repair its badly battered economy.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson unveiled a unprecedented budget where the national debt will skyrocket from just over 20% of GDP to 54% by 2023 as the government spends itself out of the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic. Under the budget plan, the government will spend US$30 billion over four years to boost the economy, according to AP.

Robertson argues the crisis demands increased spending rather than cutting back.

“I’m not a fan of austerity,” he said.