(CNN) New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she and her cabinet will take a 20% pay cut for the next six months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"We acknowledge New Zealanders who are reliant on wage subsidies, taking pay cuts, and losing their jobs as a result of the Covid-19 global pandemic," Ardern said Wednesday in a news conference. "Today, I can confirm that myself and government ministers and public service chief executives will take a 20% pay cut for the next six months."

She added that the pay cut will not affect her government's fiscal policies, but is intended to show leadership that her cabinet has taken.

New Zealand has been praised for its response to the outbreak. Ardern shut the country's borders to foreign visitors on March 19 and announced a four-week lockdown on March 23, requiring all non-essential workers to stay at home except for grocery shopping or exercising nearby.

The country has carried out widespread testing and recorded 1,386 coronavirus cases and nine deaths, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

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