NZ back into lockdown.

[Malin52]

1 case in the community. All of NZ back into lockdown Level 4 because no link to border found.

Hard and fast.

What was the right strategy for NZ wouldn't have worked elsewhere. Good on NZ thus far, it's worked well up to this point. However, they did completely abandon all prior Pandemic planning, which was "flatten the curve" - a risky move. Just look at Fiji, another isolated Pacific island.

Long term, what will NZ do? There's no halfway house, if you accept any virus into the country it will spread to most of the population, even after vaccination.

@Bryonyshcmyony saying stuff like “it’s quite sweet really” really does make you sound gleeful.

We. Every volunteer who had their arm out for a vaccine they had no idea would work. Everyone who took a medicine they never knew would help. Everyone who worked for free putting jabs in arms. Every scientist who worked towards it. All those working in the production of it it. We, all of us who contributed to the huge amount of money we have to covax via taxation. And loads more people to boot.

[quote GammyLeg]@Bryonyshcmyony saying stuff like “it’s quite sweet really” really does make you sound gleeful.[/quote]
It was meant genuinely, I remember we all felt like that. Not at all gleeful I have good friends in NZ and am looking forward to visiting ASAP!

@FourTeaFallOut

We. Every volunteer who had their arm out for a vaccine they had no idea would work. Everyone who took a medicine they never knew would help. Everyone who worked for free putting jabs in arms. Every scientist who worked towards it. All those working in the production of it it. We, all of us who contributed to the huge amount of money we have to covax via taxation. And loads more people to boot.

All the students who volunteered as guinea pigs. All the oldies who volunteered at vax centres. All of us who felt pride in our scientific research, just as NZers feel pride in JA.

I picked up on it, because from the outside, your use of ‘we’ seems a little off. By ‘we’ you mean researchers and healthcare professionals.

It’s pretty clear it’s U.K. - churlish to respond like that

@IslandSnow

This thread in a nutshell:

Some people: you’re doomed NZ!
NZers: Yeah, nah, we’re fine thanks
Others: you’ll learn! Just wait! Doom is coming!
NZers: Yeah nah we’re actually fine with this lockdown, we’re okay
Others: But the dooooom! You not accepting our doom-laden scenarios is proof of your smugness! Hahaha bet your sorry now
NZers: yeah … we’re fine thanks …
Others: Doooooom!

Perfect! 👏👏👏 Not sure who is having trouble getting vaccinated - although the official announcements are for those 65+ or some such, in reality people far younger have already had at least one jab, if not two. The only imposition on normal life over the last year has been encouragement to use the COVID tracer app. That's it.

Lack of international tourists has lead to kiwis visiting all the places that are usually overrun - bonus!

1 case in Auckland is already 10, spread over different locations, including a weekend getaway place. As PO said, NZ knows why we're at level 4 even if the rest of the world seems utterly baffled 😁

[quote GammyLeg]@Bryonyshcmyony saying stuff like “it’s quite sweet really” really does make you sound gleeful.[/quote]
Not really. It’s agreeing that NZ have leant in more is bonkers

“As PO said, NZ knows why we're at level 4 even if the rest of the world seems utterly baffled 😁“

But but they all know what’s best for us! Honestly the patronising “we know best/aren’t you sweet” paternalistic responses on this thread. 😂🙄

Superfairy please please tell me you're an unruly tourist, that would make my night

Re tourism, NZ had way too many tourists, to the degree it was significantly damaging our land and infrastructure. Moves were being made to scale this back even pre-Covid - that plus climate change means reducing our tourism industry was always going to happen. Our economy will adapt, as economies do. Personally I'm glad to have no tourists, Aotearoa feels and looks more at peace. The land can breathe.

And who knows, maybe with delta our luck has run out. We're well aware it is a game changer, that we will eventually have to live with covid, and that will come with cases and deaths - we're not as naive as some seem to think. The goal has always been to come through with the least amount of deaths possible (hence elimination strategy because we could) and open borders when a high number of the population is vaxxed. Rollout has been slow, there have been supply issues but it has ramped up significantly and the advantage of a small population is that now we have the supply we should be able to do it fast if we push. My age group has just become available so I am booking mine tomorrow.

NZ was going to scale back tourism pre Covid? Really?

Interesting…

@MummyPop00

NZ was going to scale back tourism pre Covid? Really?

Interesting…

Yes this surprised me too

Our Green party (who were in govt prior to last election) had some policies on it and Queenstown citizens were getting pretty fucked off with gridlocked traffic and overrun sewers if I recall correctly. A few years ago in my neck of the woods one of our best natural spots (Mermaid Pools) had a bar on all human access put on it indefinitely. It will take decades to recover from the damage. Freedom campers everywhere, rubbish being dumped, people toileting in public areas, crowds damaging some of our best hiking trails etc etc. I read a number of articles, from about 2015 onwards, on how the tourism industry was out of control and needing reigning in, and local councils were starting to make some noise. We probably would have taken ages to actually legislate anything though.

I think initially nz handled it all really well.
But what is the long term plan?
Surely opening the borders as is apparently the case and keeping zero covid status are mutually incompatible. At some point covid is going to have to be “let in”, ideally to a highly vaccinated population, and nz will have to deal with it.
This is where the UK has a distinct “advantage” if you can call it that because hospitals know how to deal with it (obviously they are far too busy unfortunately) and also a large proportion of population has immunity via infection

I find it strange when people from the U.K. criticise NZ for their strategy. The NZ strategy has avoided many deaths and my understanding is that they haven’t locked down nearly as much as the U.K?

I feel really frustrated when people say you can’t compare the U.K. with NZ due to population size and density etc. Obviously that is true, but the difference in population size / density has got very little to do with the huge difference in Covid deaths.

The U.K. simply did not act fast enough in the early days, and the transmission of Covid spiralled out of control. Our PM did not take Covid and the risks that came with it seriously at the outset - valuable time was wasted early on which led to us having to take a very different strategy.

We could have closed borders but still allowed supplies in.

We could have had a better track and trace process in place from day 1.

NZ were proactive from early on and were clear that they were not willing to accept thousands upon thousands of deaths due to Covid.

Yes they are now in a tricky situation re the vaccine and the U.K. has done exceptionally well to roll out the vaccine. But our vaccine roll our really has been our only success in all of this. NZ are in a position where they have avoided tens of hundreds of thousands of deaths and are slowly rolling out the vaccine.

They will reach the same stage as the U.K. at some point, minus the deaths.

And I’m sure at that stage they will need to rethink their strategy in terms of moving from zero Covid to living with Covid in a way that does not overwhelm services.

Apologies for some of the typos 🙄

Superfairy. Believe it or not our main reason for being is not to give you and your friends a lovely holiday. We are more than tourism. There seem to be quite a few misconception in this thread. The vaccination programme has had a slow start because NZ has stepped aside for those who need it more, moat particularly our Pacific neighbours. I know - thinking of the needs of others - it's mind boggling. Every person I know who is over 60 has had the opportunity to receive a vaccination. These were rolled out after vaccination of border workers, health care workers, care home residents and populations in south Auckland. I am. a decade younger and have received my two vaccinations as have many of my friends. It is all well in hand. Vaccination centers have closed temporarily whilst new protocols are out in place. They will be open again on Friday. No one here has been remotely smug about any countries ripped apart by Covid. It seems mean spirited to be smug about this lockdown

we have been well warned about the likelihood of this happening and it has been made very clear why and how this fits into a bigger plan. It's no surprise to anyone. It's certainly not some knee jerk reaction and is a small price to pay for our low death rates, very little pressure on our health system and more than a year of normal life as long as you are OK with staying in NZ.

In the last year I was diagnosed with a disease that would have proved terminal without fast treatment. I have had a massive surgery needing quite some time in ICU. IF NZ had been overrun with Covid I doubt I would have received this treatment and my illness would now be certainly terminal. I am alive because of fortress NZ.

The news is telling me that this new cluster has now been linked to the border. Unfortunately patient A had a lovely weekend in the Coromandel, eating out and visiting shops and cafes before his symptoms developed. Some of his contacts work in schools and attended church so we all need to sit tight whilst we sort out who has what so that we can get on with our plan of slow border openings in 2022. It's called sticking to the plan - someone needs to explain that to some of you.

"Sumthin Dumplin in Auckland Central has the earliest risk time on the updated list. Those who visited the premises between1.45 pm - 2.00 pm on Tuesday, August 3, could be at risk."

i.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300385233/covid19-live-church-auckland-malls-cinema-now-among-nearly-70-locations-of-interest-10-confirmed-delta-cases

And yes, NZ has been looking to scale back budget tourism for some time now. My ex H works in policy for the Department of Conservation and as long ago as 2015 this has been on the table. NZ is not keen on being seen as a destination for budget tourists looking for a bargain at the expense of the environment. The freedom camping movement is under heavy attack because of the behaviours of freedom campers. In 2019 the international tourism levy was introduced for visitors entering NZ. Many of the budget camper can hire companies with their under code vans and lewd spray painting have vanished. There is talk of differentiated fees for access to wilderness huts and campsites. There is already a differentiated system for visitors to the Treaty grounds at Waitangi. NZ wants to attract visitors who will pay for the privilege of using facilities, who will stick to the rules around waste , who will add to the economy rather than looking for a free ride.

QueenHofScotland

You totally underestimate how NZ's isolated position and tiny population enabled them to do what they did. Good for them but it was easy. We are the international travel and economic hub of Europe, the idea that we could just 'close' for 18 months is utterly ludicrous. Can't believe people still trot this argument out..

I definitely leant in to both UK lockdowns and had the stress illnesses/fall out to prove it.

I didn't swan until permitted to swan. Even now I continue to swan in a responsible double jabbed and lateral flowing manner.

I think comparing populations behaviour is a bit useless. The interesting bit is the overarching government policy of zero covid vs management.

The vaccination programme has had a slow start because NZ has stepped aside for those who need it more, moat particularly our Pacific neighbours. I know - thinking of the needs of others - it's mind boggling. Every person I know who is over 60 has had the opportunity to receive a vaccination. These were rolled out after vaccination of border workers, health care workers, care home residents and populations in south Auckland. I am. a decade younger and have received my two vaccinations as have many of my friends. It is all well in hand

You come across as supercilious. You are very very lucky to have been double jabbed in your 50s if indeed you have been, it is by no means where the country is at. I understand that some emergency services and border workers are still unvaccinated.

This thread has gone nasty in both directions really. I’m in the UK, have a lot of family and friends in NZ. I do love it there, although there are pros and cons. People I know do feel locked in, have been unable to travel in tragic circumstances, and have seen thriving businesses decimated. It simply isn’t possible to vaccinate 97% of the population and therefore there will be Covid. How well the country is prepared for that is very questionable. Some people are definitely starting to think that Jacinda should apply her ‘let’s do this’ to extracting her head from her own arse.

The vaccination programme has had a slow start because NZ has stepped aside for those who need it more, moat particularly our Pacific neighbours. I know - thinking of the needs of others - it's mind boggling.

An astonishing lack of recognition of the COVAX programme and the amazing collaborative efforts of many countries.

@PinkTonic Are we related? My family in NZ feel pretty much as you have just described.

RedToothbrush I completely agree with what you say about countries learning from each other. In much the same way I've been watching the UK's progress since "freedom day" and really hoping for the best as that will be good news for us all.