New Zealand's Auckland city is headed to a weekend free of coronavirus restrictions after the government eased the threat level Friday.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Friday the city had reported no locally transmitted cases for two weeks - leading to the lifting of all restrictions on public gatherings and other activities.
New Zealand has recorded a significantly smaller number of confirmed COVID-19 cases per capita compared with other countries.
A weeklong lockdown was implemented when health officials detected a coronavirus cluster in the city. The lockdown was eased last week but the city remained on level-2 alert.
Level 2 restrains large public gatherings and other activities that might increase risks of local transmissions.
With the announcement Friday, Auckland will join the rest of New Zealand at level 1 - which means big events scheduled for the weekend can take place.
Some events were initially believed to have been pushed back owing to the level-2 restrictions that have been in place in Auckland for the past two weeks.
However, residents are preparing for sports events that include the America's Cup sailing. Two races for the afternoons of the weekend have been scheduled.
Another event Saturday is the annual Auckland Cup organized by the Auckland Racing Club. The horse racing event attracts thousands every year.
Finally, Aucklanders are looking forward to Sunday's Super Rugby match between the Blues and Highlanders. Last year, matches between the teams were canceled due to the pandemic.
On Thursday, there was discussion regarding the alleged delay of announcing the decision to put Auckland in line with the rest of the country's COVID-19 alert level.
Opposition leader Judith Collins said the decision to place Auckland on level 1 was made by the Cabinet late Thursday evening and moving the announcement to Friday was reportedly "to fit into the PM's scheduled news conference."
But Ardern said that instead of a delay, the announcement was not made Thursday as the government was waiting for further epidemiological data due Friday.
Ardern said Thursday's Cabinet talk "was a preliminary one." She said the government was waiting for 12 test results to ensure it made the right decision.
Ardern reminded residents to keep their guards up while enjoying their COVID-19 freedom. People should practice "vigilant record keeping."
Since the pandemic started, New Zealand has recorded around 2,400 confirmed cases and 26 deaths.
