![]() While this is a situation no one wants to be in, there are benefits to being amongst the last … to learn from experience overseas, and what actions work and what actions don’t.” Little political will to ‘just let people get sick and die’ “This has given us the chance to learn from others. “We are one of the last countries in the world to have the Delta variant in our community,” Ardern said on Tuesday. It’s a similar advantage to the head-start New Zealand also held at the outset of the pandemic, when its elimination strategy was informed by watching a devastating outbreak overwhelm Italy’s health systems. It had watched how a slower lockdown – even when combined with world-class contact tracing – had failed to contain the Delta variant in Australia’s most populous state. Watching that outbreak, New Zealand could seeing what worked or didn’t, Wiles says. We only get one chance.”Īcross the Tasman, the state of New South Wales has struggled to contain its outbreak, and as of Wednesday, it had 8,000 active cases. “We have seen what can happen elsewhere if we fail to get on top of it. “We’ve seen the dire consequences of taking too long to act in other countries, not least our neighbours,” Ardern said. We’ve been living in this incredible bubble.” Galvanised by AustraliaĪsked on Tuesday by a reporter what she would say to people who questioned the need for a level 4 lockdown, Ardern responded with one word: “Australia.” “And we know that the stricter those restrictions are, if you use them well – we’ve lived those benefits. “We have spent very little time under restrictions compared to other countries,” says Wiles. It has also suffered a relatively tiny number of deaths, hospitalisations, or serious illness and disability from Covid-19. The country has surpassed the US and UK on measures including unemployment, quality of life, freedom of movement, and debt to GDP ratios. New Zealand’s strict border controls have allowed citizens to live relatively normal, unimpeded lives for most of the past year – complete with packed restaurants, music festivals, and uninterrupted schooling. “It results in this long list of huge benefits relative to the alternatives: very low mortality, high economic performance – and also by all the indicators of people returning to a normal life with minimal restrictions.” In contrast, the elimination strategy “has served us extremely well in New Zealand”, epidemiologist and public health prof Michael Baker says. ![]() ![]() New Zealand has watched carefully as much of the world struggled with suppression strategies, or allowed the virus to spread uncontrolled. The proof, experts say, is in the pudding. In New Zealand, Wiles says, “the vast majority of people understand what we are up against, and are supportive of our response.” ‘We’ve lived the benefits’ “If are surprised then they haven’t been paying attention,” says Dr Siouxsie Wiles, one of the country’s prominent epidemic communicators. The satirical hashtag #NZhellhole, which pokes fun at some of the more hysterical reactions to NZ lockdowns, was again trending on Wednesday. About 80% rated the government’s Covid-19 response as overall good, according to polling commissioned by the Spinoff in February, and 59% rated the response as “excellent”. ![]() New Zealanders have consistently supported even the toughest anti-Covid measures. But in-country, the loudest overseas critics of its elimination approach have been mostly greeted with bemusement or defiance. ![]()
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