New Zealand reports 2 new COVID-19 cases, days after declaring itself free of the coronavirus

NewZealandsaid on Tuesday that it has twonewcases of the coronavirus, both related to recent travel from the U.K., ending a 24-day streak of nonewinfections in the country.

Thenewinfections are a setback toNewZealand, which lifted all social and economic restrictions except border controls last week, declaring it had nonewor active cases of the coronavirus, one of the first countries in the world to return to pre-pandemic normality.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had warned thatnewcases may come up in the future asNewZealanders return home, and some others were allowed in under special conditions.

The twonewcases were women aged in their 30s and 40s who visited a dying parent in Wellington, the director general of health said in anews conference.

Both women arrived inNewZealandon June 7 from the U.K.via Doha and Brisbane and were in an isolation facility in Auckland. They were given special permission to leave the facility to visit the dying parent in Wellington. Both are self isolating now, Ashley Bloomfield said.

This takes the total number of cases recorded in the country to 1,506. Deaths from the disease remain at 22.

NewZealand's fivemillion people have emerged from the pandemic, while big economies such as Brazil, Britain, India and the United States continue to grapple with spread of the virus.

This was largely due to strict restrictions in which most businesses were shut and everyone except essential workers had to stay home.

Ardern has been wary of saying the country was "COVID-free"as the global pandemic raged around the world andnewcases were likely to come to the country.

"I don't wantNewZealanders to believe that the battle is over when it is not," she said earlier this week.