The New Zealand 2020 Coronavirus Response
By: Anjali Dhanekula
This year has been one for the history books. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus (formally known as COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic and public health emergency, catapulting the world into efforts to prevent the spread of the disease. Containment efforts, including the use of masks and social distancing, have altered daily life worldwide, and governmental action such as the closing of schools, restaurants, and businesses has greatly impacted economies. Since March, every country has handled the coronavirus differently, some better than others. Emerging as a frontrunner among the countries with better coronavirus responses is New Zealand. Led by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand understands how crucial stringent measures and speed are in the fight against the coronavirus and this understanding greatly influences their positive coronavirus response.
According to the New Zealand Ministry of Health, the country has confirmed a total of 2050 coronavirus cases so far. There are 1956 people who have recovered and 25 deaths.
The daily number of new and probable cases peaked in April of this year and appears to be declining ever since, with 69 active cases as of November. According to an article published by the WHO, “New Zealand’s early success in controlling coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been described as ‘crushing the curve’. They understood from the response in China, the need for speed in managing the coronavirus crisis. The faster you can find the cases, isolate the cases, and track their close contacts, the more successful you’re going to be.” This passage underlines New Zealand’s approach to eliminating and controlling the coronavirus. They understand that in order to effectively control the spread of the coronavirus, they need to be quick with their response.
Through this philosophy, New Zealand developed an elimination strategy as part of their reaction to the pandemic. As seen on the New Zealand Government website, this includes controlling border entry, disease surveillance, social distancing and hygiene measures, testing for and tracing all potential cases, isolation of cases and contact tracing, and implementing broader public health controls depending on the condition of the country. The government developed a four-level alert system for coronavirus within their country.
There are border measures at all levels, including a 14-day quarantine for international travelers looking to enter New Zealand. At level 1, there are no restrictions on movement or gatherings, but caution is advised. At level 2, physical distancing is recommended, gatherings are limited to 100 people, and businesses and schools must follow health guidance. At level 3, people are advised to stay home, gatherings are limited to 10 people, physical distancing is required, and public venues are closed. At level 4, people must stay at home (with the exception of essential movement), all gatherings are cancelled and public venues, schools, and businesses closed, and travel is severely limited. Masks are recommended, but not required, at all levels. On March 25th, the Prime Minister declared New Zealand at level 4, effectively putting the country into a nationwide lockdown. In late April, the rating was moved to level 3, and in May, the rating went down to level 2. In early June, the country moved to level 1, releasing all restrictions except for border controls.
Throughout the different level ratings and intensities of coronavirus within New Zealand, the government has taken specific measures to assist the population. The government has put in place economic stimulus measures to help citizens during the initial lockdown when businesses were closed. Later on, Prime Minister Ardern dictated that the government would grant $27 million to organizations like the Salvation Army to help the vulnerable live through the lockdown. It was also announced by the Finance Minister Robertson that the government paid more than 240,000 workers $1.5 billion in response to the pandemic. In April, all government ministers and public sector chief executives took a 20 percent pay cut. The government later put out multi-million dollar aid packages for distanced students, the media, and arts and culture.
However, the lockdown has now led to troubles in New Zealand’s economy. According to BBC, New Zealand is in its deepest recession in decades. As a result of the lockdown and border closures, the country's GDP shrank by 12.2% between April and June. Because they were most directly affected by the travel ban and strict lockdown, the retail, accommodation and restaurants, and transport industries are suffering from declines in production. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Ardern is confident in New Zealand’s recovery from this decline, saying, “I think one of the key questions here is not just about what's happened over that June quarter in terms of the effect of lockdown. It's actually about the rebound - and I back New Zealand's rebound… Even with some of the more recent restrictions, we've seen a return to activity, whereas compared to Australia we are in a much better position.”
Although it is easy to focus on the economics, statistics, and numbers, it is important to remember that the coronavirus is affecting real people whose lives have been changed forever. During the initial lockdown, daily life was pretty much shut down. Businesses were closed and people were staying home. After a while, businesses and public spheres opened up. People wore masks when they went out in public spaces and maintained physical distancing. Now, schools, businesses, and public places are open but physical distancing and masks are recommended. It is important to note that New Zealand citizens responded well to the government rules and helped curb the spread of coronavirus. In between, since the number of infections became zero, people became much more relaxed. But lately, as the infections are on the rise, they have become more cautious and are concerned that there may be another lockdown coming. There’s definitely public fatigue from the endurance of the pandemic. New Zealand closed all schools in March, but reopened in May, still allowing families and students to opt-out of returning. Schools closed once more in Auckland in August after four more coronavirus cases popped up there and the level rating jumped to 3. Currently, all of New Zealand is at a level one, schools are open, and most students continue in-person learning.
As stated before, New Zealand has led the charge of better coronavirus responses, but it is important to take into consideration some advantages. New Zealand benefits from being an island nation. Since the way into New Zealand is via air or water, the government has been able to control the flow of coronavirus into the country. The country also boasts a relatively low population density, meaning the virus cannot travel as easily through the population. These characteristics give New Zealand an advantage over larger, densely populated countries with land borders, such as the USA. This tackles the geographical factors that influence New Zealand’s response, but what about the political and cultural factors? The measures taken by New Zealand’s prime minister were swift, tough, and decisive. The measures and rules were communicated effectively to the public. The government also increased their testing capacity and contact tracing to help implement the measures, and followed the pandemic guidebook properly. The people of New Zealand trusted their leader and government to curb the pandemic. Social solidarity has helped the country. They truly believe that if they are all in this together, they can get through it better and faster. This gave them a massive advantage compared to other developing countries as well as countries with a newly elected or divisive politics.
The New Zealand coronavirus response can be characterized as quick, stringent, and effective. Under Prime Minister Ardern and Parliament's strong leadership, the outbreak has been mostly contained when compared to the rest of the world. Currently, the country sits at an alert level one and next steps are to monitor the cases carefully and update the alert level as needed, based on an increase in cases. The country is rebuilding its economy and safely going back to normal life. Well, as normal as they can get. The coronavirus impacted the world and New Zealand in ways no one could have imagined, and although the efforts to contain the pandemic are going strong, life will possibly never be the same again.
Sources
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54186359
https://covid19.govt.nz/alert-system/alert-level-3/
https://www.businessinsider.com/life-in-new-zealand-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic-2020-8
https://www.dw.com/en/jacinda-ardern-leadership-in-coronavirus-response/a-53733397
https://www.isnz.org.nz/news/coronavirus-what-schools-need-to-know/
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/next-steps-covid-response
https://www.contagionlive.com/view/how-did-new-zealand-control-covid19