The Delta Variant Is Forcing New Zealand To Find a Safe Way Out of Its ‘Zero-COVID’ Strategy

For much of the pandemic, Aotearoa New Zealand’s COVID-19 response has ranked as one of the best in the world. We have been living in a parallel world, one of a small handful of countries to follow an elimination strategy. That strategy has meant that we have had very few COVID-19 cases and deaths. And when I say very few, I mean it. Until August this year, there had been just over 2,800 confirmed cases and 26 deaths. We have lived much of the pandemic with daily life almost unrestricted. As someone who follows the global situation closely it has been surreal. I’ve spent much of this pandemic worried that New Zealanders were becoming complacent to the threat posed by COVID-19. Then in the middle of August, the delta variant arrived from Australia. In a little over two months our confirmed cases have risen to over 4,700 and two more people have died. Now we’re beginning to experience what happens when delta and inequality collide. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] New Zealand’s first confirmed case, reported on Feb. 28, 2020, came via Iran. Less than a month later, a state of emergency had been declared and our borders closed to all but New Zealand citizens and permanent residents. At the time, there had been less than 30 confirmed COVID-19 cases, all in people traveling to New Zealand from overseas. But by March 25, that number had grown to 205 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including the first with no link to international travel. At 11:59 p.m. ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news