New Zealand will move to its lowest alert level by midnight, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced.

That means all restrictions within the country will be lifted - only borders will remain closed.

Public and private events, retail, hospitality, public transport and domestic travel will all be allowed without any restrictions.

Ardern said New Zealand had "united in unprecedented ways to crush the virus" - but warned that "elimination is not a point in time but a sustained effort" and that the country would "almost certainly see cases again".

Last week, the Pacific island nation of Fiji declared itself free of Covid-19, after its last patient recovered.

After New Zealand made a similar announcement on Monday, the Fijian Prime Minister offered his congratulations on Twitter:

Image source, Getty Images

With not a single active case remaining, New Zealand seems to have beaten the virus - or rather not allowed it to take hold in the first place.

How did they do it?

First, the country locked down quickly and comprehensively. The country shut borders as early as 19 March, while there were still fewer than 30 confirmed cases.

Seven days later the highest alert level kicked in, putting the country under a strict lockdown.

After five weeks of strict lockdown, the first takeaway food shops and some non-essential businesses were allowed to open.

Eventually, new infections dropped to almost zero in late April and the country was able to lift even more restrictions.

Fast forward to today and the virus seems to be gone. But Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has warned there will be no open borders for a long time.

Image source, AFP

Cuba says it has the virus "under control" after eight days without a death from Covid-19.

Next week the country plans to announce how it will gradually ease its lockdown. There are fewer than 250 active cases left out of around 2,200 overall infections. The deaths of 83 people have been linked to the virus.

The government warned, though, that people should not get complacent. Schools and borders remain closed, public transport is suspended and it is mandatory to wear masks outside.

As other countries locked down, Sweden kept pubs, restaurants and shops open throughout the Covid 19 pandemic.

The more open approach has attracted growing numbers of British and European tourists - who’ve broken national guidelines advising against non-essential global travel in search of a beer or even a haircut.

The Australian government announced in April that all parents would receive free childcare, amid spiralling unemployment and fears of absenteeism among critical workers as schools closed down.

But that subsidy will end on 12 July, Education Minister Dan Tehan has just confirmed.

Australia continues to see only small numbers of daily infections. Currently, three people with the virus are in intensive care.

Many parents hoped free childcare would be extended - Australia ranks fourth for most expensive childcare based on percentage of earnings, according to the OECD.

Under the new rules, everyone, including British nationals, arriving in the UK will have to self-isolate for 14 days beginning today (people arriving from the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man are exempt).

• Passengers arriving by plane, ferry or train will be asked to provide an address where they will self-isolate
• If they are unable to provide an address, the government will arrange accommodation at the traveller's expense
• There will also be checks to see whether the rules are being followed

• Those in quarantine must not go to work, school, public areas or have visitors
• They could face a fine of £1,000 if they fail to self-isolate for the full 14 days (the fine is lower in Scotland).

Some people are exempt, including freight workers and medical professionals who are providing essential care.

The travel industry has been critical of the rules - saying the two-week isolation period will deter visitors and put jobs at risk.

The rules do not apply to transit passengers - i.e. people flying into the UK who then fly out without leaving the airport or passing border control.

Tens of thousands of Australians took part in Black Lives Matter rallies around the country on Saturday, in defiance of warnings from officials over the virus.

Police initially succeeded in having Sydney's march declared illegal, only for a court to overturn that ruling on Saturday as defiant protesters massed anyway.

Now political brawling over the protests is escalating. The government’s Senate leader, Mathias Cormann, has branded demonstrators "reckless" and "selfish" for ignoring the health advice.

But some opponents disagree, citing Australia's record of at least 430 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in custody since 1991.

"This issue of First Nations people dying in this country is what is reckless and irresponsible," Labor Senator Malarndirri McCarthy told Channel Nine this morning.

It had to be "a wake-up call" to end deaths in custody, added Greens Senator Rachel Siewert.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly praised most protesters for wearing masks, but said it was a "wait-and-see" approach to see if any infections emerged.

If you missed it, here's what protesters told the BBC on Saturday.

Image source, AFP

New Zealand has no single active Covid-19 infection, officials said on Monday, after the last remaining patient recovered.

That's after more than two weeks of no new infections.

Later on Monday, the government of Jacinda Ardern will announce whether it'll remove the remaining social distancing restrictions.

New Zealand had one of the world's strictest lockdowns for weeks and successfully stopped the pandemic from escalating.

There have been 1,504 confirmed cases in New Zealand, and 22 deaths.

Welcome back to our coverage of all things coronavirus. We'll keep you posted on the global developments with our teams of journalists based across time zones from Australia to the Americas.

Here's what you need to know as the new week kicks off in Asia.

• New Zealand's only virus patient has recovered - meaning there are no active cases in the country
• Starting today, there will be a two-week quarantine period for travellers arriving in the UK. Only those coming from Ireland and some essential workers are exempt

• Many other European countries are gradually opening their borders - without quarantine requirements
• In the US, New York City will begin opening up on Monday, with hundreds of thousands expected back at work
• A new outbreak in Poland with hundreds of infections has been traced back to a single coal mine
• While daily deaths in Italy - one of Europe's worst-hit countries - have dropped to 53, new infections in Russia continue to see a steep rise - with almost 9,000 new cases over the past day.
• Infections in Saudi Arabia have topped 100,000, the health ministry said on Sunday