Sharjah24 - Reuters: The New Zealand government said on Monday that it will look at how the nation handled the COVID-19 epidemic so that future governments may benefit from the experience.

A Royal Commission, a public inquiry of the highest level in New Zealand, would look at the overall response, the government said in a statement. That would include considering economic measures, such as fiscal and monetary policy responses but without reviewing particular central bank decisions.

The aim would be identifying lessons that could be applied in a future pandemic.

"It had been over 100 years since we experienced a pandemic of this scale, so it's critical we compile what worked and what we can learn from it should it ever happen again," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a statement.

A one-time poster child for tackling the coronavirus, New Zealand's swift response to the pandemic and its geographic isolation kept the country largely COVID-19 free until the end of 2021, winning Ardern strong domestic support.