Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visited the United States to boost tourism and trade in New Zealand, which has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. She left on May 23 and stayed for about a week.
He was infected with coronavirus just before leaving for the US.
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand has been slowly declining since peaking in early March. However, the total number of confirmed cases has now exceeded 1.16 million. This is a significant number for a country with a population of 4.9 million.
However, due to the high vaccination rate, the lack of strain on medical care, and the low death toll of 1,128 (as of May 31), border control measures have been relaxed and the country is moving towards a post-COVID world. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ardern has also been infected with COVID-19. First, her fiancé, Clarke Gayford, tested positive, and the Prime Minister also had symptoms, so she was tested and diagnosed as positive.
As a result, he stayed at home from May 8 until he was due to leave for the US. His daughter Neve also tested positive. Her symptoms were moderate and she suffered from a loss of taste, but she continued to carry out her duties as Prime Minister while recuperating at home, and was able to travel to the US as scheduled.
Returning to the Colbert Show
New Zealand has currently resumed accepting tourists from visa-exempt countries, including Japan, but from July this will apply to all countries.
Aiming to revive the country's major industry, tourism, Prime Minister Ardern made a strong appeal for New Zealand during her stay in the United States. She also appeared on the talk show of popular American host Stephen Colbert. Prime Minister Ardern has also appeared with Colbert in the past.
When Colbert visited New Zealand in 2019, he personally picked her up at the airport and invited her to his home, and the two have a strong friendship. https://nz-land.com/archives/1367 This appearance was also uploaded to Colbert's YouTube channel.
Prime Minister Ardern spoke about the time when she made the decision to close the borders due to the spread of the coronavirus,It was a really big decision. I remember feeling quite sad after the meeting, thinking about the impact of closing the borders. But it was the right decision, and it saved many lives (by preventing the spread of infection).He commented.
"Hospitality" is part of our New Zealand identity. Now that we are able to welcome people from all over the world again, it feels like we are finally returning to our true selves.He said.
Promoting carbon neutral beef
When ranking the number of tourists visiting New Zealand by country, the United States is third after Australia and China, and is also the third largest export destination. (China is first, Australia is second.)
Prime Minister Ardern touted the high quality of New Zealand's dairy, meat and beverage exports to the US, and brought Colbert a gift of New Zealand grass-fed, carbon-neutral beef.
"Carbon neutral" means that greenhouse gas emissions are essentially zero, after subtracting greenhouse gas absorption by forests and other sources from greenhouse gas emissions. As of March of this year, carbon-neutral beef has been on sale in the United States.
New Zealand's dairy industry has been working to reduce carbon emissions since 1990. Prime Minister Ardern said:We want you to be able to eat our products with peace of mind (without worrying about the impact on the environment).
He commented,
By the way, the pink suit that Ardern wore during this TV appearance was designed by New Zealand designer Juliet Hogan. Even in fashion, she was able to show off New Zealand.
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