MUMBAI: Seems like life has kicked back to normal in New Zealand, the one the country that has hit headlines repeatedly for being able to bounce back successfully.

Now again, a viral video shows thousands of people squeezed like sardines into the Waitangi sports ground in New Zealand to enjoy a live concert featuring a famous band called Six60, in the biggest outdoor event held in the country since the start of the pandemic.

Speaking to Stuff.co.nz, band member Marlon Gerbe said, “The venue is iconic. It’s very symbolic of this country,” he said, explaining how the five had only visited and learned the true significance of the area just weeks before.

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Videos show zero social-distancing, as crowds squashed up against one another singing and waving their arms.

Six60 is currently on a six-date nationwide tour called 'Six60 Saturdays', which will see the band perform at Christchurch, Hastings, New Plymouth, Hamilton, and Wellington.

The lead singer of the band, Matiu Walters, said authorities in New Zealand have done really well in handling the COVID-19 situation.

“Being here and able to get together while the rest of the world basically can't have really given us a good appreciation of how well our country has done in managing Covid and just how lucky we are. I feel really proud that we have got our act together so well on Covid," he said.

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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden won immense praise last year for her leadership. She instituted a mandatory quarantine for all travellers on March 15, when the nation had recorded just 6 cases.
The alert level in New Zealand has just been lowered to 1, and virus measures such as social-distancing are at a minimum as a result, in a country that has only had 25 fatalities since the start of the pandemic, and just 2,246 positive cases.