A US woman who moved her family here has singled out New Zealand as a world-leader in the fight against COVID-19.
Dr Judy Melinek, a forensic pathologist and New York Times best-selling author, has detailed her move in a series of posts on social media.
Considered an essential worker, she got a job in Wellington Hospital for a year starting next month - with the possibility of scoring a permanent role after that.
It comes after figures released by Immigration New Zealand this week showed a 65 percent increase in US citizens seeking information on how to emigrate to the country.
COVID-19 is continuing to escalate throughout the world - especially in the US - which is the epicentre of the disease.
On Thursday, Dr Melinek revealed she had arrived in New Zealand with her husband and two children and they were in quarantine at Auckland's Sudima Hotel.
"Today I start on the gastronomic adventure of becoming a Kiwi," she wrote on Twitter.
She was critical of her homeland and said what the US was doing to manage COVID-19 "is not working".
"Please look to NZ, China, Vietnam, Germany for examples on how to manage #COVID19 better.
"Public health is the reason why we are here [in New Zealand]."
In an interview with NZME, Dr Melinek said the way US President Donald Trump handled COVID-19 was "an unmitigated disaster".
"He isn't handling it," she said.
Dr Melinek said New Zealand was "a role model" in how it dealt with the outbreak.
"Not just locking down the border but also the quarantine hotels, the testing, the contact tracing, you need to ramp that up and I understand that you are," she told NZME.
New Zealand has been globally praised for its handling of the pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) earlier this week singled us out for successfully eliminating community transmission.
"#NewZealand followed WHO guidance on isolating cases, reducing contact and testing, and successfully eliminated community transmission of #COVID19," the WHO said on Twitter.
"The people & government of #NewZealand, led by @jacindaardern, have shown #COVID19 can be overcome through commitment, action & vigilance. Testing, contract tracing & clear communication to the public are hallmarks of the country's successful response."
