One of Auckland's largest private commercial and retail landlords, the multibillion-dollar Samson Corporation, offered many tenants 80 per cent rent reduction during alert levels 3 and 4.

Grey Lynn tenants praised the business established by Sir Michael Friedlander, saying not only was his rent cut by "thousands" but he knew of others who enjoyed the same benefits.

"It's meant to be private. But yes most of the people who asked for help got that from us, a few were going to lawyers and the remaining did not engage," Friedlander said.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12332189

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After three consecutive days with no new coronavirus cases reported, New Zealand allowed most businesses to reopen on Thursday.

The island country, which is home to nearly 5 million people, has been praised for its swift response to the spread of the coronavirus. New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has even said that the country has "won [the] battle" of widespread COVID-19 community transmission.

"We went hard and we went early. 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 said in a Facebook Live video this week.

The country's new stage is Alert Level 2, which means that "all businesses can open to customers if they can do it safely." Travel among regions is approved, and schools are allowed to open. Still, social gatherings are limited to 10 people. Physical distancing is still strongly encouraged and wide-scale testing is taking place.

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/14/856093586/after-days-of-no-new-coronavirus-cases-new-zealand-reopens-most-businesses

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There are no new cases to report on Wednesday.
The total number of cases sits at 1497.
94 per cent of cases have recovered.
There are no additional deaths. 2 people are receiving care in hospital.
203,045 tests have been carried out. 
New Zealand is moving to level 2 tomorrow.
On Thursday, cinemas, retail, playgrounds and gyms can reopen with physical distancing and strict hygiene measures.
Travel will also resume.
Schools will reopen on Monday.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300011100/live-no-new-cases-of-coronavirus-on-last-day-of-covid19-alert-level-3

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Malls, cafes and restaurants re-open from Thursday and schools resume next Monday but bars must wait 10 days as the country moves to alert level 2 in 48 hours.

On Thursday, retail stores, malls, cafes, restaurants, cinema and other public spaces can reopen. All require physical distancing. Health services will also restart.

The deadline was 11.59pm on Wednesday, meaning effectively alert level 2 started on Thursday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12330988

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An aggressive approach has enabled New Zealand to end community transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Sophie Cousins reports.

New Zealand recorded its first day of no new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) early this week, more than a month after its strict lockdown began.

At the time of publication, New Zealand had recorded fewer than 1500 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 20 deaths. On March 23, a month after the country had recorded its first case, New Zealand committed to an elimination strategy. A few days later, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a strict national lockdown when it only had 102 cases and zero deaths. Her swift decision making won international praise, including from WHO.

As New Zealand now eases its restrictions and its economy slowly reopens, there are discussions about how it can open up its borders while ensuring that everyone is protected, particularly susceptible populations.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31097-7/fulltext

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There are no new Covid-19 cases for the second day in a row. Achieving zero cases two days in a row was a testament to New Zealanders' efforts that "we can all be undeniably proud of", the Prime Minister says. But because of the long tail of the virus, Jacinda Ardern urged Kiwis to double down on their efforts to maintain the good run of numbers.

With a second straight day of no new Covid-19 cases, New Zealand is on track to achieve its bold goal of eliminating the virus - but there's a slight hitch. There's not yet a definition of what elimination actually is - so a group of scientists have proposed one, along with a set of qualifiers for it.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12329761

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There are no new cases of coronavirus in New Zealand today and Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield says he wants to keep it that way.

It is the first time in close to six weeks that testing has not uncovered a single case across a 24 hour period.

There are no additional deaths to report and the death toll remains at 20. The total number of cases is 1487. One probable case had since been upgraded to confirmed but that does not change the total number of cases. There are four people in hospital.

"Clearly these are encouraging figures today but it is just one moment in time," Bloomfield said.

It is cause for celebration and it was symbolic of the effort that everyone had put in, Bloomfield said.

"This is the first day we've had no new cases and we want to keep it that way."

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12329400

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New Zealand says it has stopped community transmission of Covid-19, effectively eliminating the virus.

With new cases in single figures for several days - one on Sunday - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the virus was "currently" eliminated.

But officials have warned against complacency, saying it does not mean a total end to new coronavirus cases.

The news comes hours before New Zealand is set to move out of its toughest level of social restrictions.

From Tuesday, some non-essential business, healthcare and education activity will be able to resume.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-52436658

While most countries are working on ways to contain the coronavirus, New Zealand has set itself a much more ambitious goal: eliminating it altogether. And experts believe the country could pull it off.

The virus “doesn’t have superpowers,” said Helen Petousis-Harris, a vaccine expert at the University of Auckland. “Once transmission is stopped, it’s gone.”

Geography has helped. If any place could be described as socially distant it would be New Zealand, surrounded by stormy seas, with Antarctica to the south. With 5 million people spread across an area the size of Britain, even the cities aren’t overly crowded.

“We have the opportunity to do something no other country has achieved: elimination of the virus,” Ardern told reporters last week. “But it will continue to need a team of 5 million behind it.”

https://time.com/5825390/new-zealand-coronavirus

On Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that what New Zealand calls its Category 4 measures — the most intense level — would last until end of day April 27, after which the country will revert to Category 3, a level with greater freedoms.

"We have done what few countries have been able to do — we have stopped a wave of devastation," said Ardern,  who has received widespread praise both at home and abroad for taking early, decisive action against COVID-19.

"The number of cases that each person with the virus passes it on to is now 0.48, less than half a person each. Overseas, the average is 2.5 people, so we have among the lowest number of confirmed cases per 100,000 people in the world."

As of Tuesday, the country of five million people had registered 1,445 cases and just 13 deaths, most of them in nursing homes.

The majority of those infected have also now recovered.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/covid-new-zealand-eradicate-chris-brown-cbc-1.5540021?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar

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