New Zealand's Ardern hits back at Trump over coronavirus 'surge'

FILE PHOTO: A bull statue with a mask covering its face is seen in a township called Bulls, near Palmerston North, on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand, amid the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), July 12, 2020. REUTERS/Praveen Menon/File Photo

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hit back on Tuesday against U.S. President Donald Trump for saying her country is experiencing a "big surge" in COVID-19, calling the remarks "patently wrong".

Trump sparked uproar in New Zealand when he told a crowd in Minnesota that the South Pacific country of 5 million people was in the grip of a "terrible" upsurge in COVID-19 cases, having earlier succeeded in eliminating the disease.