1 NEWS takes a look back at how the Covid-19 pandemic altered Kiwis' lives over the course of 2020.
February 2: Jacinda Ardern announces a ban on travellers from mainland China as cases there continue to grow.
February 28: The first case of Covid-19 is announced in New Zealand , as a person in their 60s tests positive after arriving from Iran.
March 5: First locally transmitted case occurs, as an Auckland man in his 40s was infected by a family member who had returned from Iran.
March 19: All border entries closed to non-New Zealand residents and those arriving must self-isolate for 14 days.
March 21: A four-tiered alert level system is introduced to try and manage Covid-19 in New Zealand, and those aged over 70 are asked to stay home. The country begins at Alert Level 2, but this is quickly moves to Alert Level 3 two days later.
March 25: The nation moves from Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 4, putting all of New Zealand into a full lockdown in which only trips for essential needs are allowed and essential workers are the only people allowed to leave home for work.
March 29: New Zealand's first death from Covid-19 recorded . The woman who died was in her 70s and lived on the West Coast.
Anne Guenole died from Covid-19 in Greymouth. (Source: Other)
April 5: The country reaches passes 1000 cases.
April 10: All people arriving into New Zealand must undergo 14-day supervised quarantine.
April 27: Alert Level 4 drops to 3 after just over one month.
May 13: As the rate of cases continues to slow, New Zealand moves to Alert Level 2.
May 29: The social gathering limit is raised from 10 to 100 people.
But other restrictions to gatherings still apply as New Zealand remains in Alert Level 2. (Source: Other)
June 5: The 14th day of no new Covid-19 cases is recorded.
June 8: For the first time since the pandemic first took hold in New Zealand, there are no active cases of Covid-19 detected within our borders. New Zealand moved down to Covid-19 Alert Level 1 at midnight.
August 11: After 102 days of no reported community transmission, four new community cases are announced in Auckland - linked to cold storage company Americold - prompting a return to lockdown in the region. The initial source of these cases is never discovered.
August 17: Jacinda Ardern announces the election will be delayed by a month due to the latest Covid-19 community outbreak.
October 17 is the new polling date with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying she does not intend to change the date again. (Source: Other)
September 23: Auckland moves to Alert Level 2 while the rest of the country is at Alert Level 1.
October 8: As cases from the August cluster continue to subside, Auckland joins the rest of the country at Alert Level 1.
October 20: A large number of Russian and Ukrainian fishermen test positive for Covid-19 after being flown in to work on Kiwi fishing boats.
Eleven people have tested positive for the virus at the Sudima Hotel, and another 14 cases are under investigation. (Source: Other)
November 7: An NZ Defence Force employee working at an Auckland managed isolation facility contracts Covid-19, sparking a new community cluster. Alert levels remain the same as contact tracing begins.
November 11: The West Indies cricket team is chastised by health officials for breaking the rules while in managed isolation.
Since the first case was found, there have been two waves of the virus here. (Source: Other)
November 12: An Auckland woman in her 20s is diagnosed as a community case of Covid-19. Interviews confirm she went to work at a CBD fashion store while awaiting her test results. Her case is genomically linked to the Defence Force cluster the next day and alert levels remain the same.
November 19: After recent scares, masks are made mandatory on all public transport in Auckland and on planes around the country.
November 26: Pakistan’s cricket team are also warned for breaching MIQ protocols, prompting a backlash against NZ health officials from cricketing great Shoaib Akhtar .
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