The first country in the world to beat the second wave of coronavirus: 3 essential lessons

Three essential things that helped control the virus

The woman does not say that the virus has not been eliminated, but it is certainly under control.

“Perhaps I would like to start by saying that when the first wave came to our country, it came a little later than any other country in the world, so New Zealand could learn a bit from other countries. New Zealand has also learned from the mistakes made during the first wave and coped with the second outbreak much more successfully.

Perhaps you could point out three main reasons why I managed to get along so well. First of all, there were very strict border controls. As the walls were closed at the end of March, they remained closed and did not open. Only citizens and residents could return to the country, they had to be quarantined and screened on the third and twelfth day, which helped control who enters the country, but the second outbreak in Zealand began in late August, after about a hundred days in New Zealand. no case was registered within the country, only at the border. This was because border controls were not properly managed.

That virus crept in and caused a hotbed of over a hundred cases, and it was helpful that it was prepared ahead of time. I was surprised because they were already fixed, it seemed that it would not happen again, but the politicians say it will return and we have to prepare. Contacts were detected very quickly, both close and random. They were then isolated, the contours of the cluster were established, and the country returned to the second or third level of constraint. There are four levels in total in Zealand, the fourth is the strictest and that was when the first wave was, ”said the woman.

Track contacts through gadget

The interviewee also says that about half of the country’s population has a device that is very useful for tracking contacts, which is very important to combat the spread of the virus.

“One way to track contact with the coronavirus is with a device. About half of the country’s population has downloaded it. This is a tracking device. For example, you go to a store or event where now you can, you scan the code and if you detect a new positive case, an infection, then depending on where the person is visiting, other contacts are found. Not only are close people, colleagues, but also random contacts, “says a Lithuanian living abroad.

The woman says that people are aware, trying to follow the rules because they know that the fourth level would be a very strong blow to the economy, because at this time the country can still survive from local tourism, even though there are no foreign tourists no students. part of the economy.

“Nobody really wants to get to the fourth level, so they try to follow all the rules as much as possible, keep their distance, disinfect everywhere, use the app. There were also clear instructions from politicians and the prime minister, who is trying to use the researchers’ findings, ”says the woman.