New Zealand lifted all social and economic restrictions except border controls after declaring on Monday it was free of the coronavirus, one of the first countries in the world to return to pre-pandemic normality.

Public and private events, the retail and hospitality industries and all public transport were allowed to resume without the distancing rules still in place across much of the world.

“While the job is not done, there is no denying this is a milestone ... Thank you, New Zealand,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, adding she had danced for joy at the news...