New Zealand is expected to start easing a nationwide lockdown to combat the corona virus next week, but Prime Minister JACINDA ARDERN has warned that it would be far from a return to normal.

The Pacific country of five million people has been one of the most successful in containing the outbreak, with just over 1,000 known cases and nine deaths.

The government imposed a maximum Level Four lockdown three weeks ago that included closing the island nation’s borders, countrywide stay-at-home orders and shuttering all but essential businesses and services.