New Zealand on edge after virus-infected Australian visits

New Zealanders were on edge after health authorities said an infectious traveler from Australia had visited over the weekend

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- After enjoying nearly four months without any community transmission of the coronavirus, New Zealanders were on edge Wednesday after health authorities said an infectious traveler from Australia had visited over the weekend. New Zealand has taken a zero-tolerance approach to the virus and continues to pursue an elimination strategy. The country's response has been among the most effective in the world and the nation of 5 million people has recorded just 26 coronavirus deaths. But its vaccination campaign has been far slower than in most developed countries, with just 11% of the population having gotten their first dose. So although there were no immediate cases confirmed as a result of the traveler's visit from Sydney to New Zealand's capital Wellington, authorities were asking people at more than a dozen locations to self-isolate for two weeks and get tested.