After days of lockdown, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the country will slowly reopen from 14th May with businesses permitted to reopen across the country. To celebrate the announcement, the mayor of a city went bungee jumping.
The people of New Zealand are now allowed to visit retail stores, malls, cafes, restaurants, cinemas, and public spaces, including playgrounds and gyms.
Taking a plunge above the picturesque Kawarau River, mayor of Queenstown Lakes District Jim Boult’s early morning jump was the first at the Kawarau Bridge Bungy Centre. It was the first since the seven-week lockdown and signaled the re-opening of the town’s tourism industry.
He said: “I’m delighted to be able to mark the reopening of this facility, even if it means jumping off a bridge first thing in the morning,” he also added that this wasn’t his first experience of the adventure sport.
Saying that Queenstown is the country’s premier tourist destination, Boult stressed that in a post-Covid-19 world focussing on domestic tourism would bring a much-needed boost to the local economy that would benefit thousands of locals.
“I look forward to welcoming visitors to our district from across the country,” he said.
The Prime Minister of the country also said that there are few measures and guidelines that the country will take as they head for the “new normal” with social distancing in place. Social gatherings should be kept small for now – 10 people or less, she said.
People in New Zealand celebrated the lockdown being lifted on social media and #Level2 trended.
Check out how people celebrated it:
Schools and bars will also be reopened later in May. Ardern said the changes will be reviewed in two weeks.
