WELLINGTON, March 25 (Xinhua) -- A state of emergency has been declared on Wednesday in New Zealand after 50 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the country.

The state of national emergency was declared by Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare under the Civil Defence Emergency Act 2002, Director of Civil Defence Emergency Management Sarah Stuart Black said on Wednesday in a conference.

"The state of national emergency has been declared because of the unprecedented nature of this global pandemic and to ensure the government has the powers it needs to slow the spread of COVID-19 and reduce its impact," she said.

New Zealand confirmed 50 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, which took the total number of cases in this country to 205, according to the Ministry of Health.■