WELLINGTON - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the coronavirus restrictions in its biggest city Auckland will be eased, while all restrictions will be lifted in the rest of the country.

Auckland will move to alert level 2 from Thursday, Ardern said at a news conference on Monday, which will limit gatherings to 100 people.

The rest of the country will move to level 1 from midnight on Monday, she said.

(Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) ((praveen.menon@thomsonreuters.com; +6448028163; Reuters Messaging: praveen.menon.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; Twitter: https://twitter.com/Journopraveen))