WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – New Zealand has been marked for 100 days on Sunday as it unleashed the spread of the coronavirus, a rare bright spot in a world that remains devastated by the disease.
Life has returned to normal for many people in the South Pacific nation of 5 million as they attend rugby games at packed stadiums and sit in bars and restaurants without the fear of becoming infected. But some are worried that the country may be calming down and not well enough prepared for any future outbreaks.
New Zealand got rid of the virus by setting up a strict screening at the end of March when only about 100 people tested positive for the disease. That stopped their spread. Over the past three months, the only new cases have been a handful of returning travelers who are quarantined at the border.
“It was good science and great political leadership that made the difference,” said Professor Michael Baker, an epidemiologist at the University of Otago. “If you look all over the world at countries that have done well, it’s usually that combination.”
From an early age, New Zealand followed a bold strategy to eliminate the virus instead of simply suppressing its spread. Baker said other countries are increasingly looking for answers to New Zealand.
“The whole Western world has handled this threat terribly wrong, and they realize this now,” Baker said.
He said many leaders saw a false dichotomy between saving lives as saving their economies, when in fact companies thrive best when they have certainty about issues such as disease.
Indeed, New Zealand’s economy has fared better than many predicted. The country has managed to keep its unemployment rate at just 4%, although many economists say that number does not account for recent job losses and is likely to decrease significantly after a subsequent subsidy of a government-funded wage expires.
The leadership of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been widely praised. She provided people during the lockdown with daily briefings and a message that resonated: “Go hard and go early.”
Total infections were limited to just 1500 and the country has suffered just 22 deaths. Opinion polls suggest support for Ardern’s Liberal Labor Party has increased ahead of next month’s general election.
However, New Zealand’s international tourism industry has collapsed and the country remains more isolated from the outside world than before. The Ardern government is reluctant to open the border to other countries, even though other nations are doing so cautiously.
And the experience of some other countries, including Vietnam and Australia, shows how easily the virus can re-inflate, even when it appears to be under control.
Baker said New Zealand remains in a reactionary mode and is not making enough plans to keep the virus out. He said the country should create a national public health agency and better fund scientists studying the spread of the disease.
But Sunday at least marked a milestone that many in New Zealand noticed with a sense of gratitude and relief.
