New Zealand marks welcome milestone
New Zealand on Sunday marked 100 days since it halted the spread of the coronavirus, a rare bright spot in a world that continues to be ravaged by the pandemic.
New Zealand got rid of the virus by imposing a strict lockdown in late March when only about 100 people had tested positive for the disease. For the past three months, the only new cases have been a handful of returning travelers who have been 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 around the globe at countries that have done well, it’s usually that combination.”
From early on, New Zealand pursued a bold strategy of eliminating the virus rather than just suppressing its spread.
“The whole Western World has terribly mismanaged this threat, and they’re realizing this now,” Baker said.
He said many leaders saw a false choice between saving lives or saving their economies, when in fact businesses thrive best when they have certainty about things like diseases.
Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern’s leadership has been widely praised. She reassured people during the lockdown with a message that resonated: “Go hard and go early.”