New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern claimed on Monday that the country had "eliminated" the coronavirus as the country eased the level of restrictions from four to three.

The level-three restriction went into effect on Tuesday, allowing schools and some businesses to partially reopen with limited capacity and restrictions, such as physical distance in public space.

Only one day after Ardern credited with eliminating domestic transmission of the coronavirus, New Zealanders queued for burgers, fries and coffee takeaways after getting free from a month-long lockdown. 

At a news conference on Monday, the country reported one new case, four suspected cases and one more death.

Still, the country needs to stay alert and can still expect to see new cases, Ardern said, adding cases had been in the single figures in the past few days, calling the numbers incredible while sending her sympathies to people who had lost their loved-ones because of the outbreak.

"It's been nearly five weeks of living and working in ways that just two months ago would have been impossible. But we did. And we have done it together," she praised the efforts of New Zealanders.

According to Johns Hopkins University, New Zealand has a total of 1,469 confirmed novel coronavirus cases and 19 deaths.

New Zealand introduced its highest, level four lockdown measures in March, under which offices, schools and all non-essential services like bars, restaurants, cafes and playgrounds were shut down. 

The measures were tougher than most other countries, including neighboring Australia, where some businesses were allowed to operate.

The prime minister said those measures had paid off. New Zealand has reported just 1,122 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 19 deaths, one of the lowest tallies in the world.

Still, there was growing debate among officials and academics about the terminology that should be used for New Zealand's status in relation to the coronavirus spread, with some saying the virus could return if lockdown measures were eased too quickly.

"If we turn our backs for a minute, we'll be on the path to a serious outbreak once again. And we've seen this happen overseas," Siouxsie Wiles, a microbiologist and associate professor at the University of Auckland, wrote in a column on the online news site The Spinoff.

New Zealand is maintaining several social distancing policies despite the step down in the alert level, with malls pubs, hairdressers and other public shopping areas to stay shut for at least another two weeks.