- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has made it into the news for a moment of lighthearted humour during a daily coronavirus press briefing.
- Jason Walls, a reporter from the New Zealand Herald, told Ardern to skip his question after he appeared to forget what he wanted to ask. She responded by telling him she was worried about his sleep.
- The moment was captured on Twitter, and got more than 60,0000 views, with the journalist who posted it saying it was: "heartening to see civility in leadership."
- As of April 17, New Zealand has 1,401 cases and 9 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
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New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been praised for her civility during her daily coronavirus press briefing.
Earlier this week, New Zealand Herald reporter Jason Walls, who was updating a live stream of the conference, appeared to forget his question for Ardern. "Sorry, it doesn't matter," he said.
In response, she said: "No problem, will come back to you. I do worry about your sleep at the moment Jason."
The moment was caught by United Arab Emirates media outlet The National's Washington correspondent Joyce Karam, who shared it on Twitter, where it's gotten more than 60,000 views.
Karam said: "At at time when journalists are under attack by US President, expelled by China, Egypt and censored by many authoritarian states, it's heartening to see civility in leadership."
New Zealand's response to the coronavirus has recently been praised by The Washington Post. As of April 17, New Zealand has 1,401 cases and 9 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Although it's a minor comment from Ardern, it's quite a contrast to President Donald Trump's treatment of journalists during his coronavirus press conferences at the White House.
In recent weeks, Trump has lashed out at reporters from different news organizations, calling questions "nasty" or "threatening," and telling journalists they're "fake" or that they're "never going to make it."
The New Zealand Herald covered Ardern's response to Walls, and noted people on Twitter were announcing they were moving to New Zealand or calling for Ardern to replace Trump as president - despite that not being possible.
Walls later responded on Twitter, saying that he'd caught up on his sleep.
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