COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
The COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand was part of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The first case of the disease in New Zealand was reported on 28 February 2020. The country recorded over 2,274,370 cases. Over 3,000 people died as a result of the pandemic, with cases recorded in all twenty district health board (DHB) areas. The pandemic first peaked in early April 2020, with 89 new cases recorded per day and 929 active cases. Cases peaked again in October 2021 with 134 new cases reported on 22 October.
The Queen's message to New Zealanders, stating that she is confident Kiwis will "rise to the challenge and overcome" the coronavirus pandemic.
Two cruise ships—Celebrity Solstice and Azamara Journey—in Port Chalmers on 15 March
COVID-19 testing centre in Palmerston North
Oyster Cove, the venue of the Bluff wedding at Stirling Point
During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns, were implemented in numerous countries and territories around the world. These restrictions were established with the intention to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. By April 2020, about half of the world's population was under some form of lockdown, with more than 3.9 billion people in more than 90 countries or territories having been asked or ordered to stay at home by their governments. Although similar disease control measures have been used for hundreds of years, the scale of those implemented in the 2020s is thought to be unprecedented.
A usually congested highway in Penang, Malaysia, deserted during the Movement Control Order
Healthcare workers in Hong Kong prepare to conduct mass COVID-19 testing of Jordan residents during a localised lockdown.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon delivers a press conference instructing the public to stay at home during the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland.
At a community quarantine checkpoint in Bohol, Philippines, police officers check a passing jeepney.