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'So jealous': The images that have made the world 'envious' of Australia and New Zealand

Video of Crowded House playing for thousands of delighted fans has demonstrated the difference between the handling of the pandemic in New Zealand compared to countries battling a 'third wave'.

The scenes at Queenstown's Gibbston Valley Winery showed no social distancing and 6000 people enjoying the homegrown band as if Covid-19 never happened.

"What a beautiful day, amazing crowd and epic scenery. Thanks Queenstown!!" Crowded House wrote on Twitter along with a video of them playing to fans.

Crowded House live in conert
Crowded House plays to a crowd of 6000 fans. Source: Twitter/Crowded House

The video shocked Twitter users from around the world, baffled by how the country wasn't in lockdown or struggling to contain community transmission anymore.

“So in New Zealand concerts are rocking, while rest of world [is] mostly locked down,” one person commented.

"This is what it's like in New Zealand. This is what #COVIDzero looks like!" one person declared.

"I am so envious New Zealand - you got your lives back," another said.

"So jealous...sick of the UK, can I come live with you guys?" one man wrote.

Another person posted similar scenes of Midnight Oil playing in front of a live crowd at the Hunter Valley in NSW on the weekend as the vaccination rollout continues.

One fan of the band said he was hopeful America could "get our act together" in the hopes of attending a concert in the future.

"Just an extremely jealous North American over here. Hopefully we can get our act together and y'all can come back over."

"Why do I not live in Australia," a woman questioned with a sad face emoji, while another stated: "The rest of the world is now jealous."

Italy, Papua New Guinea, France struggle to contain virus

All remaining restrictions in New Zealand’s largest city Auckland were lifted last week after no locally transmitted cases of coronavirus were reported for two weeks, meanwhile some other countries are still scrambling to deal with recent surges.

Italian authorities recently announced a partial lockdown for the majority of the country following a fresh surge in infections.

The Queensland Premier called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to assist with vaccinations after half of the 500 Covid-19 tests Queensland assisted with in Papua New Guinea came back positive.

French President Emmanuel Macron has imposed curfews on a number of regions facing a sharp spike in cases.

Swift public health measures combined with aggressive contact tracing, border closures and compulsory quarantine for travellers have been credited with making New Zealand highly successful in keeping the pandemic from spreading.

Australia has also celebrated long periods with no local cases, NSW only recently ended a 55-day streak with one new locally acquired case on Monday - a NSW security guard whose infection was flagged on Sunday.

There were 13 new overseas-acquired cases in hotel quarantine; six in Queensland, three in NSW, three in SA and one in WA.

More than 164,000 people have now been vaccinated in Australia, including about 40,000 aged care residents across 437 facilities.

with Reuters and AAP

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