New Zealand is now coronavirus-free - last patient discharged from hospital

New Zealand has not reported any fresh coronavirus cases in the last six days. The Oceania country's health ministry also went on to add that the there are now zero COVID-19 patients in the nation's hospitals after the last patient was discharged from Middlemore Hospital in Auckland. Health Ministry officials on Wednesday during a media briefing shared the country's coronavirus statistics and said that the number of people who have made a recovery is now at 1,462 and only 21 more active cases remain.

A total of 267,435 COVID-19 tests were carried out while contact tracers have been monitoring the remaining cases across the country via the NZ COVID Tracer app. Furthermore, New Zealand launched another app on Wednesday, which will offer information on the updated case definition and local clinical pathways to medical officials and health workers along with guidance regarding the use of personal protective equipment.

Public health official Dr. Ashley Bloomfield during the briefing said that New Zealand is gradually opening the country's borders as it has proven to be "so important for us to keep the infection out of the country,". Likewise, officials are also approaching with a lot of caution in dropping the alert level from two to one - one being the least severe level. With about 1,500 confirmed cases and only 21 deaths to date, as per data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, New Zealand has steered clear from any major troubles caused due to the COVID-19 outbreak in comparison to other nations.