To be shocked at how normal everything looks in New Zealand?

[GoldenLabbie]

Huge crowds seeing the New Year. No masks, no social distancing. You wouldn’t know that the rest of the world is in the grip of a pandemic looking at those scenes. How did we manage to get it so wrong but they got it so right? When you look at that you realise how the rest have screwed up so badly don’t you? I wonder what they make of all?

@nolongersurprised is it nit easier to trace 7 cases as opposed to 50000 , really
And no I am not posting links find then yourself you have not posted any links to your claims and have ignored my question as to why you are only criticising the uk and no where else in europe

We did spot new strain as apparently we are second only to denmark in this kind of research

but australia isn't on par with nz who are practically back to normal

Most of Australia is, though. For most people, border closures just mean you can’t go on holidays out of your state. But the states are quite large .

And people in Sydney are being told to avoid large gatherings and some people will need to wear masks at work. They are still having the 3rd cricket test (Australia versus India) there next week though.

@nolongersurprised its great to be proud of your country but not to gloat how bad others are suffering and not to understand key differences
Whats the population of australia about 25 million where as uk about 66 million in a country a lot smaller that is heavily tied to europe for both imports and exports many be road so shutting our borders entirely is not easy
Holidays should if been stopped and something the eu should of considered as a whole but many countries rely heavily on it
In the uk in the summer most holiday places were busy as most did stay home and they had good summer numbers and would of made good profits which is hopefully seeing some through now

And no I am not posting links find then yourself you have not posted any links to your claims

Oh dear.

It’s generally internet etiquette that if you are the one making bold claims (NZ has said their economy will be destroyed with continued closed borders) that you back them up.

I haven’t made any bold claims, just rectified your misperception that Australia has been in “continued” lockdown.

@nolongersurprised they had restricted numbers for visitors at just xmas though some areas 10 some 5 and no travel to other states from one area
Whilst you have any cases you will generally get some restrictions to keep it in check where as nz apart from travel abroad have zero restrictions I believe

@nolongersurprised i never said there economy would be destroyed or that australia have been in continuous lockdown
No country can keep borders shut for years easily long term and not many would want to

@nolongersurprised you also only seem to answer questions you want to and avoid others as well us making up words
You were the one who said australia was back to normal like nz apart from international travel and as i have relatives in australia I knew that wasn't strictly true as they live in an area that was affected just before xmas

@nolongersurprised there is also no such thing as internet etiquette
Do you really think a country can keep borders shit for years , people not being able to see family , some aussie residents still haven't been able to get home yet I have reAd

i never said there economy would be destroyed or that australia have been in continuous lockdown

You said - “They can’t remain shut for years and still have an economy”.

@nolongersurprised no one is saying that nz and australia haven't done well nz more so as they have practically eliminated
But no country can keep borders shut for years upon years , your airlines will go bust for one but just realistically obviously now there is a vaccine that makes a huge difference and im sure both countries will be shut until they roll out vaccines of which we are all reliant on to hopefully get back to the world we know

making up words

I’m bored with this now, but really? Which new words have I made up?

Lol

@nolongersurprised didn't use thw word destroyed and yes they would struggle being shut if from the world for years they were thinking if creating air bubbles with other countries with low cases at one time , why consider this if they could shut down for 10 years with no issues , and not I did say years not meaning 1/2

@nolongersurprised I am bored as well as you avoid any question you don't want to answer you clearly want to just put down only the uk
And are almost gloating
But i never used the word destroyed and never said australia have been in continuous lockdown like you claim
Its 5 am in the morning here so I need to sleep
Well done you and how awful we all are here , hope that makes you happy

@Mamanyt sorry its just so many people are blaming others now
We have our share of those who won't wear a mask etc but in general at least where I live people are pretty compliant and we had kept numbers low until this new strain although still low compared to london
I do feel like the whole world should of all locked down together right at the beginning of this

The whole argument about Australia and New Zealand’s population and population density is complete bullshit and easily dismantled when you look at the numbers in countries that are neighbours to China and Wuhan. China itself, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan. All countries with high population and population densities with lower cases, significantly fewer deaths. And it’s because their governments recognised the issue, but restrictions in place, and their citizens followed the rules. It’s pretty obvious.

And all indications are that these countries, including Australia and New Zealand, will recover quicker economically.

fortune.com/2020/12/17/new-zealand-covid-lockdown-economy-recovery/

Australia’s GDP has fallen significantly less that the UK’s. Failure to adequately manage Covid in the UK has resulted in needless deaths and tanked the economy. Whereas successful management in places like Australia and New Zealand has saved lives, stopped people dying needlessly, and saved the economy as best as hoped. Tourism is the obvious loser, but that was inevitable.

Australia is needing to have mini restrictions ever now and again, but why is that? Because it keeps leaking out of hotel quarantine. The only reason small parts of Australia (not all in any way) have had to have some rolling restrictions occasionally is because the rest of the world can’t control it, so people fly back with it. Nearly all of Australia’s current active cases were acquired overseas. If countries like the UK had better control, Australians overseas would be able to return much more easily, but because there’s a high chance someone flying into Australia from there will be positive - and with the new strain - restrictions are required. There’s no doubt it could be better for returning Australians but it’s due to Europe’s fuck up that it isn’t an easy fix.

Life in Australia is normal for most apart from overseas travel.

@NotBadConsidering please tell me the restrictions japan put in and how strict they were ?
Do you not think its strange it also seems to be very prevalent in europe , we ma have more answers in years to come

[quote donewithitalltodayandxmas]@Mamanyt sorry its just so many people are blaming others now
We have our share of those who won't wear a mask etc but in general at least where I live people are pretty compliant and we had kept numbers low until this new strain although still low compared to london
I do feel like the whole world should of all locked down together right at the beginning of this [/quote]
I could not agree more with that. Added to that, here in the USA, each state's Governor sets the restrictions for that state. Democratic governors tend to be more strict, Republican (Trump's part) tend not to do much at all. Nor is there any real policy for enforcing what is set.

Let me tell you from personal, upclose experience, having one state with strict policies and wearing masks next to one that does not is very much like having a "no peeing" section in the swimming pool.

@donewithitalltodayandxmas

I’ve had more holidays away in NZ this year than I’d usually have and so have others I know. We would have gone on holiday to the UK, but it’s not really the best holiday destination at the moment.

Many kiwis can’t afford to leave NZ to holiday because of its remoteness, so for many it is business as usual.
I’ve got family all over the world - some have chosen to pay for quarantine in NZ and have come on holiday, but others haven’t...It’s quite common to go years without seeing family in person because of the cost and distance. It sucks, but it’s not that unusual here.

Kiwi’s can go abroad, it just cost more and you need to quarantine when you get back - not ideal, but some people still do this for work or emergencies. I can’t imagine people go for holidays at the moment because there isn’t anywhere most people would rather be, but I do know some people who have travelled for work abroad and here for holidays.

The UK keeps on just not quite doing enough to control it. The lockdowns are never quite strict enough to get it under control, but impact everyone’s day to day lives anyway - the half hearted lockdowns don’t work, but ruin the economy and wear people out and mean some just give up trying.

Having a proper testing system would also help so that everyone who may have been exposed to covid can get tested - this has helped to avoid lockdowns in NZ. Being able to tell that all of the cases popping up across the city are connected and not different outbreaks was invaluable in the last lockdown, even though it wasn’t always obvious that the cases could be connected at all.

Sending kids home from school without access to testing when they may just carry covid back into school again after 7 days seems crazy.

An excel spreadsheet isn’t really fit for purpose to manage things either. A proper test and trace system can allow people to go about their lives and avoids lockdowns and getting sick. Why can a country like the UK not manage this? There’s lots of technology and smart people in the UK who could sort one out!

The UK is now stuffing up the vaccine roll out by not following the schedule that was tested, so all those people on the front lines due their second dose may find that it doesn’t happen in time. Will they be protected?!? Who knows?!?

My point was that the UK didn’t need to copy NZ, but what they have done all seems a bit Mickey Mouse and ineffective. Does anyone living in the UK really think Boris and Sage have done the best they could have?

@NotBadConsidering australians could return if your country let them and paid fir quarantine
Every country you listed is still not comparable to europe but again you blame just the uk ?

Stop using the @ symbol. It’s annoying. I’m on the thread you don’t need to @ me.

Of course those countries are comparable. The population of South Korea is the same as England’s.

Hi all. I am currently in NZ. I agree with most comments. Yes we are small, yes, we only have 5 million people, but we acted hard and fast. We had the advantage of seeing what was happening in Europe (Italy) and once Covid struck here, Jacinda went on hard lockdown. From level 2 to level 4 in something like 72 hours. I remember that day so well. The announcement was at 1pm. By the next day, the CBD (Wellington) was a ghost town. People with PC screens on the busses and trains, bags of work taken home. Everyone just listened to her instructions and rules and was disciplined. And although we could still go for walks during level 4, social distancing was taken very seriously. Our borders is tightly shut, and yes, the economy is feeling it, but on the longrun this is working. Our kids are back in normal schooling routines, our workplaces is functioning as normal and the general population is continuing as normal. Sport is continuing, festivals is open and this summer we all went on our summer breaks within the country, which is again helping the economy. So we are actually just living in our own little planet for now.

I only wore a mask for 2 weeks on public transport, and yes, we do scan our Covid app, but again, we see it is a responsibility.

That all being said, I think we, in NZ, dont really know or understand the daily impact of what you guys are going through. We only read about it or if we watch the news. So, with that, much love, prayers and thoughts of encouragement from NZ

@Kiwi09 why are you only picking out uk though other european countries have actually fared worse
Testing here now is loads better and we are doing hundreds of thousands a day in most cases
But the point remains we have over 60 million people so nz can control it much easier than the uk and out borders cannot be shut as easily due to links with europe
I agree with lockdown now we should be doing a march style lockdown but we can't eradicate it only supress
Re : vaccine time will tell if that works or not , if it pays off it will mean restrictions for leas time and you can read arguments for and against and I think we will ry more heavily on the oxford one now approved as easier logistically

@NotBadConsidering thats what its there for
And no south korea is not comparable its not in europe for a start , have you read up on all those countries and what they did so differently ?

@Laradv it must be great for you guys as you have a lovely country to tour anyway
Nice to hear from someone who can see the bigger picture a little
There is numerous vaccines now so nz economy will easily bounce back as it has less bouncing to do than most