PM Says Easter Bunny Is an 'Essential Worker'

New Zealand's prime minister has reassured worried children that the country's coronavirus lockdown will not apply to the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. She said Monday that they have joined workers like health care personnel on the list of "essential workers," the Washington Post reports. "You’ll be pleased to know that we do consider both the tooth fairy and the Easter Bunny to be essential workers,” she said. "But as you can imagine, at this time they're going to be potentially quite busy at home with their family as well and their own bunnies." She told children that if the bunny doesn't make it to their home, "we have to understand that it’s a bit difficult at the moment for the bunny to perhaps get everywhere."

Parents around the world have been placing teddy bears in their windows for children to spot when they go for walks, and Ardern, who ordered a four-week lockdown on March 25, offered a suggestion for Easter, the New York Times reports. "I have a bit of an idea,” she said. "Maybe draw an Easter egg and prop it into your front window and help children in your neighborhood with the Easter egg hunt, because the Easter bunny might not make it everywhere this year." New Zealand, with a population of nearly 5 million, has so far recorded just one COVID-19 death and around 1,100 infections, reports CNN. (More Easter Bunny stories.)