Wellington, Dec 13 (IANS): New Zealand on Sunday launched a nationwide TV campaign to raise awareness against the coronavirus pandemic , urging the public to stay vigilant and maintain good hygiene during the upcoming holiday season.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins launched the "Make Summer Unstoppable" campaign TV ads during a cricket match between the New Zealand national team Blackcaps and the West Indies at Wellington's Basin Reserve, reports Xinhua news agency.

Christmas and the holiday season is a time of the year when New Zealand people get together socially more often with more large-scale events and bigger numbers in nationwide travelling.

"Whether it's days at the cricket, at the beach or at the backyard barbeque with family and friends, we all want to be able to enjoy this summer without the interruption of Covid-19," said Hipkins.

"We've seen what happened during the northern hemisphere summer and in the USA during Thanksgiving, where people travelled widely and without taking precautions, driving a huge spike in cases. We don't want that to happen here," said Hipkins.

"That's why our focus to 'Make Summer Unstoppable' is all about reminding and motivating everyone to keep doing the easy, everyday actions which will keep us free of Covid-19."

New Zealand is currently at Covid-19 Alert Level 1 with no restrictions of gatherings.

School holidays usually start from mid-December and last over two months until early February, while businesses are often closed before Christmas for around two to four weeks.

As of Sunday, the country's overall coronavirus caseload and death toll stood at 2,096 and 25, respectively.