Remember when Covid-19 had only spread in Wuhan? It almost seems like a decade ago but it’s only been about 4 months since then. With the virus spreading rapidly, it soon made its way around the globe, with many countries being put on its knees in the wake of its spread.

That being said though, we’ve also come a long way since the first wave of infections and one country in particular has done much better than the rest of us. That country is of course New Zealand. The tiny island nation declared itself Covid-19 free after being free of new infections for 24 days straight.

Sadly however, that has now come to an end. Two new cases of the novel coronavirus has emerged, with both cases being linked to travelling in from the UK. According to reports, the two cases make up two women who had entered New Zealand from Britain after leaving quarantine early without being tested for the virus in order to visit a dying relative.

As you would expect, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Arden was not happy about this, saying that it was “absolutely nonsensical” that the pair did not get tested. She also said that border controls clearly need to be tightened and with that, announced the inclusion of the military in efforts to control the nations border.

It’s a real shame for New Zealand, who already had plans to resume near normal pre Covid-19 activities in place. The countries borders will remain open but only to  returning New Zealanders and their families, with some exceptions given to those on business and compassionate reasons.