New Zealand Covid-free, Premier dances for joy

A liberating dance to celebrate the victory over the coronavirus. The unprecedented performance is by the New Zealand premier Jacinda Ardern who confessed beaming at the press conference that he celebrated with a "little dance" the news of the national health authorities that his country is Covid-free. For more than two weeks there have been no cases in New Zealand, the last patient has recovered and from today the alert level has gone down, the lowest of the four expected: social distancing is no longer mandatory but remains recommended and not there are more limits to sporting events, music, to meetings. Schools and offices reopen, weddings and funerals resume. The Super Rugby championship also starts on Saturday, but the country remains closed to foreigners. "Having no active cases for the first time since February 28 is certainly a significant point in our path but continuous vigilance against Covid-19 will continue to be essential", said the premier, thanking the country for the citizens' behavior and community spirit shown. "There will certainly still be cases," added Ardern, because "elimination is not a point in time, it is a prolonged effort." New Zealand had entered lockdown on March 25 with a 4-level alert system to be progressively reduced as the epidemic decreased. Level one, the lowest, was planned for June 22nd but the elimination of the infections has convinced the government to anticipate the restart. The country, with a population of five million inhabitants, had a total of 1,154 coronavirus cases and 22 deaths.