As of Monday, the country had reported 1,219 confirmed cases, including only 21 active infections, all in managed isolation facilities. There were no cases in 100 days via community transmission, authorities announced Sunday, with all new infections coming from abroad.
In total, the island nation of 5 million people has reported 22 deaths from coronavirus.
While other countries – including Pacific neighbors Australia and the United States – continue to fight outbreaks, New Zealand has ceased to be an example of how to fight Covid-19. One important reason is that although the country seems to have the coronavirus under control, authorities are still testing thousands of people daily.
“We have seen abroad how quickly the virus can and can spread in places where it was previously under control,” said Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield on Sunday.
“We need to be ready to put out all future cases in New Zealand quickly. Do not let the team down – none of us can afford to do this.”
How New Zealand did it
New Zealand’s strategy was simple: in the words of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the country had to “go hard and go early.”
When Ardern closed the border to foreigners on March 19, the country had only 28 confirmed cases. And when they announced a nationwide lockdown on March 23, there were only 102 confirmed cases – and no fatalities.
Unlocking New Zealand was relatively strict – no takeaways, no beaches and no rides outside of your neighborhood. The strictest rules were in place for about five weeks, but the country remained under effective lockdown for another two weeks.
That was all part of the country’s broader strategy: elimination.
“Elimination does not mean the permanent destruction of the virus from New Zealand; rather it is certain that we have eliminated at least 28 days of chains of transmission in our community and can effectively contain all future imported cases from abroad,” it said. Ministry of Public Health website.
New Zealand waited until it lowered its curve to the right before lifting restrictions. On June 8, when Ardern announced that all restrictions would be lifted, nearly 40,000 tests in the previous 17 days had not yielded a single positive result.
Since June, the country has almost returned to normal – and there was no need to return to lockdown.
New Zealand is also combining the refurbishment with tight border restrictions. Only citizens are allowed to enter the country, and they have to spend two weeks in an institution approved by government. New Zealanders returning home will now pay 3,100 New Zealand dollars ($ 2,040) for the facilities if they return temporarily.
A total of 95 confirmed cases were identified at the border, and 70% of New Zealand cases were or were imported as import-related cases, according to statistics from the Ministry of Public Health.
What New Zealand did not do
All over the world, there has been a lot of emphasis on wearing face masks to control the spread of coronavirus.
But in New Zealand, masks have not been an important remedy against the outbreak.
There are a few reasons for this. The country has no culture of wearing masks, and in March – when New Zealand was ready to go into lockdown – it was difficult to buy masks in local shops. By the time people could go out in public and travel the country again, there were very few cases of coronavirus in New Zealand.
In addition to New Zealand’s public health strategies, the country had some natural benefits.
It has no land borders, which gives it more control over who enters the country. And New Zealand is not densely populated – according to World Bank data it has only 18 people per square kilometer, compared to 36 in the US and 275 in the UK. India – which has the third-highest number of cases in the world – has 455 people per square kilometer.
But just because face masks have not been part of New Zealand’s strategy in the past does not mean that it will be the case in the future. The Ministry of Public Health advises that all households prepare for another possible outbreak by wearing masks.
“It’s a matter of when, not when,” Bloomfield told national broadcaster Radio New Zealand last week when asked if another case of community transmission in New Zealand was inevitable. “We are working on the basis that it could be at any time.”
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