New Zealand enjoyed a Covid-free summer, with no cases of community transmission recorded between November 16 and February 14 – 90 days in total.
The Auckland February cluster, which saw 15 confirmed cases in total, was officially closed in April.
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The February cluster, emerging in south Auckland and affecting families linked to Papatoetoe High School, came after a Covid-free summer.
Microbiologist Dr Siouxsie Wiles said the 103-day milestone is “an opportunity to be thankful” for where New Zealand is as a country, and to thank those doing the “hard yards” at the border and in managed isolation and quarantine facilities.
The pandemic is still raging overseas, and more and more infectious variants are emerging, which will “test our processes”, she said.