Status: 04.10.2021 12:46 p.m.
Tough lockdowns and strict contact and entry bans: New Zealand’s government wanted to completely stop the spread of the coronavirus in the country. Now she is moving away from this strategy.
The New Zealand government is gradually abandoning the country’s zero covid strategy. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus had proven to be a “turning point”. In Auckland, the corona virus could not be eradicated even with the strict lockdown of the past few weeks. “Even with the long-term constraints we had, we obviously haven’t hit zero,” she said.
However, Ardern announced that it would not change the strategy immediately. The government will ease the restrictions in the two-million-inhabitant city of Auckland slightly, even if the number of new cases has not decreased. She added that this change in strategy was only possible thanks to the significant increase in the vaccination rate.
Easements in Auckland
From Wednesday, meetings outside with up to ten people should be allowed again in Auckland. According to the AP news agency, day nurseries and beaches are also set to reopen. The government wants to examine further easing every week.
More shops and schools could open again in the coming weeks. At the end of September, some shops such as restaurants with delivery service had already reopened.
Resistance to strict rules
New Zealand imposed a nationwide lockdown in mid-August to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant. After three weeks, restrictions in the rest of the country were largely lifted as the outbreak turned out to be confined to Auckland. Over the weekend, 2000 people protested against the extension of the lockdown at an unauthorized demonstration.
New Zealand has been largely isolated from the rest of the world since the beginning of the pandemic. Until the August Delta eruption, life for New Zealanders was almost normal for months. The island nation was therefore seen worldwide as a role model in the fight against Corona: In the country with its five million inhabitants, there have only been 27 deaths from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Criticism from the opposition
Despite her move away from the zero Covid strategy, Prime Minister Ardern described the previous approach as a success. It helped keep the virus under control when there was no vaccine. It has now changed and that is why the pandemic can now be approached differently. Opposition MP Chris Bishop, on the other hand, spoke of a complete surrender.
Opposition leader Judith Collins also criticized Ardern’s corona policy. Instead of developing a coherent strategy to replace the zero-covid approach, the head of government merely presented a “vague wish list”.
In New Zealand, around 40 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. About 65 percent have received at least one injection.