New Zealand, under the leadership of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, has received considerable international kudos for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With an elimination strategy best articulated as “zero tolerance of community transmission,” the country to date has exhibited one of the world’s lowest infection and death rates.
By August 22, it had recorded 24 deaths (0.48 per 100,000 people) — notably few compared to the United States’ 628,503 deaths (191.5 per 100,000 people). Even the best-performing US state in this statistic, Hawaii (to which New Zealand, as a small Pacific nation, could be comparable), has a death rate of 39 per 100,000 people.
The core of New Zealand’s COVID-19 strategy is twofold.
First is a draconian border closure where entry is strictly controlled.
The core of New Zealand’s COVID-19 strategy is twofold.
First is a draconian border closure where entry is strictly controlled.
