WELLINGTON: New Zealanders hugged and kissed, shopped, and planned parties on Tuesday (Jun 9) as the country took off all COVID-19 restrictions for the first time in more than three months, while much of the rest of the world is still grappling with the pandemic.

The South Pacific nation of 5 million declared on Monday that it was free of the coronavirus, becoming one of the first countries in the world to return to pre-pandemic normality.