New Zealand has been very successful in preventing the spread of COVID-19. It's Prime Minister Jacinda Arden said, "There is no widespread undetected community transmission in New Zealand. We have won that battle, but we must remain vigilant if we are to keep it that way." Coronavirus has been trending downward since April 5, and the last new case was reported 17 days ago, as of July 8th. This is likely due to the very strict shutdown New Zealand implemented in Early March. On March 15th, all visitors were quarantined, one of the strictest policies in the world at the time, even though they only had six cases nationwide. Just 10 days after, they instituted a complete, countrywide lockdown, including a moratorium on domestic travel.
This was designated as a Level 4 shutdown. Grocery stores, pharmacies, hospitals, and gas stations were the only commerce allowed. Social interaction was limited to households. According to some American journalists living in New Zealand at the time, " Before we could get new tickets home, the country halted all travel completely. Like an estimated 100,000 plus international visitors, we were stuck. The sudden austerity could have been a cause for panic. But each day, the 39-year-old Ardern, made clear concise statements about the situation to the nation, bolstered by a team of scientists and health professionals." The prime minister announced in early March that instead of slowing down transmission, the goal would be to eradicate it entirely. They planned to do this by cutting off the arrival of new cases and stopping existing ones with restrictions.
Many visitors noted that on day one of the lockdown, the streets and highways were empty, stores closed, because everyone stayed home. A recent survey from New Zealand shows that 87% of Kiwis support the way that the government is handling the crisis. There have been some advantages that made this shutdown easier, New Zealand had their first case confirmed on February 28th, a month after the United States. The island has a minimal amount of flights going in and out. New Zealand is also centrally governed, meaning that there are no states. The greatest advantage has been that New Zealand moves swiftly, tested very widely, and relied heavily on science.
They were very decisive early, which, according to Prime Minister Arden, "helped stamp out the worst of the virus." New Zealand implements rampant testing, to the point where they could conduct 8,000 tests per day. They have also had good test positivity rates. Dr. Mike Ryan Executive Director of the WHO's Emergency Programs, said " a good benchmark is to have at least 10 negative cases for every one positive case confirmed. That means if a state or country carries out testing and comes back with positive cases of around 9% or under, then it's likely that it is testing well." New Zealand's test positivity rate is around 1% suggesting that there isn't community spread, and their tests are accurate.
Relying on good science was integral in New Zealand's coronavirus strategy. Professor Michael Baker, from Otago University's Public Health Department, said, "The real lesson from New Zealand has been the combination of good science and leadership." A statement from the Ministry of Health's website reads, " In New Zealand, it has been a wonderful link between good science, and brilliant leadership, and the two together are highly effective. I've [Baker] been really disappointed that countries who have far more, absolutely the top science resources in the world, that is the US and UK, many countries in Europe, have not fared better than countries like New Zealand which has limited resources."
Going forward, New Zealand is in a good but tricky place. The country is still asking its citizens to remain vigilant at preventing the spread of COVID-19. They are awaiting a vaccine before they can return to pre-COVID life. New Zealand is facing a major economic threat. Tourism accounts for 10 percent of the GDP, and 15 percent of the workforce. New Zealand 's treasury estimates that the country could see a 13% unemployment rate. Some forecasts suggest that the economy won't fully recover until at least 2024. Prime Minister Arden responded to this saying, "We will do all we can to ensure we fight the economic impacts of the virus in the same way we did the health threat. With unity, with fast support, by looking after each other."
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/27/845304917/new-zealand-says-it-has-won-battle-against-covid-19
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/2020/04/what-new-zealand-did-right-in-battling-coronavirus/
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/28/asia/new-zealand-coronavirus-outbreak-elimination-intl-hnk/index.html
https://news.fiu.edu/2020/the-pandemic-roadmap-how-new-zealand-beat-covid-19