Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has denied an absurd claim from US President Donald Trump that New Zealand was experiencing a "big surge" of COVID-19.
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Mr Trump made the bizarre call during a trademark rant on Tuesday (AEST) on the campaign trail in Minnesota ahead of the November's presidential election.
An outbreak in Auckland, which currently tallies 70 cases, has prompted Ms Ardern to put the country's biggest city back into lockdown.
New Zealand has had 1293 cases of COVID-19, with 22 deaths.
Kiwi health officials announced just 13 new cases on Tuesday.
In contrast, the United States - the worst-hit country in the world in terms of cases and deaths - has recorded more than 5.4 million cases and 170,000 deaths.
"The places they were using to hold up. They're having a big surge," Mr Trump said.
"They were holding up names of countries and now they're saying 'whoops!'
"Even New Zealand. Do you see what's happening in New Zealand?
"Big surge in New Zealand. You know it's terrible. We don't want that."
Mr Trump also suggested New Zealand's elimination of the virus, something Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern attributed to her "team of five million" was in fact achieved to spite the Republican president.
"They beat it. It was like front page. They beat it because they wanted to show me something," he continued.
Speaking from parliament in Wellington, Ms Ardern said Mr Trump's assertion was "patently wrong".
"Obviously I don't think there's any comparison between New Zealand's current cluster and the tens of thousands of cases seen daily in the United States," she said.
"Every country is expecting its own fight with COVID-19. It it a tricky virus but not one where I would compare New Zealand's current status with the United States.
"We are still one of the best performing countries in the world."
Australia's trans-Tasman neighbour has enjoyed one of the world's best responses to the virus, going 102 days without community transmission until last week.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said he "didn't make anything" of Mr Trump's comments, sidestepping criticism of the president.
"The American people can work out that we have (the same number of COVID-19 cases) for a whole day what they have every 22 seconds," he said.
Australian Associated Press
