New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is expected to receive her first dose of Covid-19 vaccine next week. Getty
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is expected to receive her first dose of Covid-19 vaccine next week. Getty
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is expected to receive her first dose of Covid-19 vaccine next week. Getty
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is expected to receive her first dose of Covid-19 vaccine next week. Getty

New Zealand goes 100 days without community spread of Covid-19


Mina Aldroubi
  • English
  • Arabic

New Zealand on Tuesday marked 100 days without recording a locally transmitted case of Covid-19, with no new infections outside isolation zones.

The country has been among the most successful in the world at containing the spread of virus, and has so far fully vaccinated about 250,000 of its population of five million.

New Zealand last recorded local transmission of Covid-19 on February 28, according to the country's Health Ministry.

If the situation continues it could beat its own record for the longest period without community transmission.

Last August, New Zealand went 102 days without local transmission before an outbreak pushed the city of Auckland into a Level 3 lockdown.

New Zealand has been internationally praised for its efforts to curb the spread of the disease and has lifted almost all of its lockdown restrictions.

They were first imposed at the start of the pandemic.

The country is expected to obtain one million Pfizer vaccine doses by July.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday that she would receive her first shot at the end of next week.

"For me, it's been important that I allow those in the most at-risk group ... to be prioritised," Ms Ardern said.

"I'm choosing to be vaccinated at this point in order to play my role in demonstrating that I consider it to be absolutely safe and also really critical to keep others safe."

About 20,000 doses a day are being administered, and the Pfizer deliveries will enable that pace to increase significantly, she said.

At the peak of the inoculation programme in August and September, 50,000 doses will be administered each day, she said.

Since the outbreak began, New Zealand has reported 2,336 cases of Covid-19 and 26 deaths.

THE BIO

Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

Education: UAE University, Al Ain

Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6

Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma

Favourite book: Science and geology

Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC

Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.

Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut

Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

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Atletico Madrid 1
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How to donate

Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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Global Fungi Facts

• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil

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