The last patients remaining in the National Burns Unit after the Whakaari / White Island eruption have been discharged.
Middlemore Hospital. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today announced the patients had left the unit, located at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital.
"The volcanic eruption on December 9 in which 21 people lost their lives set in motion a massive national and international response, in which the national burns service ... was really key," Ardern said.
Other patients from the eruption were still being cared for within the healthcare system elsewhere in the country.
Ardern paid tribute to those working at Middlemore for their efforts in the wake of the eruption.
"I visited Middlemore just before Christmas and met with some of the staff and some of the family and they do incredible work ... I want to thank all of the health sector across the country who were involved in that response."
After the eruption, 13 injured patients were later transferred to Australia and another six to their home countries. There were 47 people on the island when it erupted.