New Zealand has eliminated coronavirus

[Porpoises]

I keep seeing posters saying "well we'll all have to catch it sooner or later". It's not true. If the government had the political will and competence, they could pursue an elimination goal.

New Zealand has eliminated coronavirus, no new cases today. They locked down early, semi-closed their borders and are aggressively testing, tracking and isolating people exposed. This means they can ease lockdown with everyone safe. They will obviously have to be vigilant in case they have missed cases, but it looks like they will succeed in getting coronavirus free.

Wish I could emigrate - but for obvious reasons they're not accepting visitors right now!

//www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-asia-52436658

[Northernsoullover]

That's fantastic. I do worry that its like whack-a-mole at the moment and they will need to keep their borders closed for a while. Lets hope we can get going with more testing and contact tracing asap.

[paininthepoinsettia]

Does no new cases today actually mean that though? If they get cases tomorrow does that mean it's considered a second wave?

[vdbfamily]

I think that is exactly what this given gent is now aiming to do. That is why they are urging everyone to keep up the lockdown for longer. If they can get testing up and new infections down to a manageable level, they can start contact tracing and locking down every positive case and their contacts and eventually eliminate the virus.

[runrunrunrunt]

It's very tempting to be jealous and impressed but the virus won't be eliminated elsewhere so how does NZ safely reopen? Will they never have anyone to the country? Will they have tourism health checks? Quarantines? They are in a truly wonderful position and I hope they manage to continue it going forward but if they want to return normal normal then I think this will be an ongoing struggle for them, for us all.

[vdbfamily]

government not given gent!

[runrunrunrunt]

But I'm genuinely not trying to be negative. It's really wonderful news.

[justanotherneighinparadise]

NZ really isn’t known to be a business hub is it? I just don’t think it’s comparing apples with apples.

[BackInTime]

Amazing news and certainly something to learn from but it is very difficult to compare countries with different population densities and demographics.

[lljkk]

India, Brazil, Bangladesh, Nigeria, USA -- are not NZ.
Try a large country with a porous border.

[MrsJoshNavidi]

A) New Zealand has eliminated the virus for now

B) The population of NZ is less than half of that in London, and a lot more spread out.

[TattyDevine]

Don't compare them to the uk. Funny little place. Easy to shut down and a limited economy. Mega nanny state. I'm a sort of kiwi before anyone flings a jandal my way! 🤷‍♀️

[Porpoises]

@runrunrunrunt
I would expect they would need border controls (maybe obligatory testing or two week quarantine?) until a vaccine is developed. Australia is doing pretty well too, so they are discussing a potential Australia - New Zealand travel zone.

[Porpoises]

@TattyDevine that's interesting. What's their economy based on?

[NaturalBornWoman]

Don't compare them to the uk. Funny little place. Easy to shut down and a limited economy. Mega nanny state. I'm a sort of kiwi before anyone flings a jandal my way!

That’s made me smile so thank you.

I’m getting a bit sick of hearing how great NZ is at this given the population is half of London’s and the country is the same size as the U.K. plus it isn’t an international travel hub. It’s lovely, I really love it there but not a reasonable comparison.

[Porpoises]

Thanks for the responses. I knew their population was smaller than ours but didn't know the difference was quite so big!

[HermioneWeasley]

When I lived in NZ my phone number was 8

Seriously, good for them but it wouldn’t have worked in thr U.K. there’s some evidence to suggest it was already circulating before the first official cases.

[AdoreTheBeach]

I don’t think you can compare NZ with the UK long term. For the UK to go back to “normal” the City needs to reopen, which is thousands upon thousands of workers in a square mile; thousands upon thousands using packed trains and tubes; it’s thousands upon thousands of international tourists; its thousands upon thousands going to various other countries via Heathrow.

Plus, the sheer volume of the population in UK vs NZ can illustrate it’s not comparability before you add in our “normal” and their ”normal”.

Sorry, can’t compare the two.

[papiermaches]

It;s great, we've booked flights.

[Tanith]

Didn't the UK eliminate rabies in the same way, by quarantining animals coming into the country?

[Deelish75]

It's great that there are no new cases today, but if the incubation period is 14 days then surely they have to wait 14 days to be sure?
What happens when they open their borders - will everyone be quarantined for 14 days on entry?

[Poetryinaction]

Yes it is a similar size to the UK with about 60million fewer people and 300 miles from the next neighbouring country, or something like that.
So it's great they have done so well but it cannot be compared with the UK, a European country with a large population in a small area.
It is much easier to lock down people with space for a start.

[DobbyTheHouseElk]

Australia has really low numbers of cases too, and they have a relaxed lockdown so I’m not sure why they have so little cases.

[HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime]

I wonder if, once a vaccine is available you will be required to get one atleast a month before entering NZ and other countries same as you would with some other travel vaccines. Obviously vaccines are not a guarantee that you do not have / are not carrying a pathogen but closest thing we'll have.

[TattyDevine]

Porpoises SHEEP mainly. Lanolin and Manila honey.

They export more lamb to China than Wales, which makes sense till you realise Wales is closer to China.

Funny little place, thank good they are pretty or there would not be a lot going for them.

[silentpool]

NZ has eliminated Coronavirus for now. Winter is about to start. That will be the test.