New Zealand has long been considered a role model in combating the corona pandemic. But now the Pacific state is recording a large increase in the number of infections because of the delta variant. This is causing the country’s zero covid strategy to stumble.
After a major domestic corona outbreak, New Zealand has admitted its ambitious zero-covid strategy has failed. “The extent of the contagion and the speed with which the virus has spread has put our system under pressure despite all preparations,” said the health minister Chris Hipkins on Sunday the broadcaster. The latest outbreak with the more contagious Delta variant of the virus is difficult to contain and raises “big questions” about the government’s corona strategy.
After the occurrence of a domestically transmitted corona case, according to the minister, 71 people have now tested positive for the virus. The delta variant is “not comparable to anything we have had to deal with in this pandemic,” said Hipkins. “It means that all of our preparations so far seem less meaningful and raises some pretty big questions about the future of our long-term plans.”
Opposition criticism of vaccination campaign
On Tuesday, the Pacific state had registered 41 new corona infections, according to the information – as many as not since April 2020. The number of current infections is 148, said Ashley Bloomfield, director general of the Ministry of Health, at a press conference. But, “It’s comforting that we’re not seeing an exponential increase,” said Bloomfield, adding that most of the cases reported in Auckland suggested that infections were not widespread. The Ministry of Health still expects an increase in the number of infections.
Opposition politician Chris Bishop criticized that the latest outbreak made it clear that the government had paid too little attention to the progress of the vaccination campaign. “The government’s complacency and inability to ensure the supply and delivery of the vaccine has made easy prey for all of us,” he said.
In New Zealand, according to information from the data portal, more than 34 percent of people are vaccinated at least once and around 20 percent are fully vaccinated. For comparison: In Germany, according to current information, more than 64 percent of people have been vaccinated for the first time and around 59 percent have been completely vaccinated.
New Zealand largely closed itself off
New Zealand’s widely lauded zero-covid strategy aims to completely eliminate the virus from the population. The island state with five million inhabitants has largely isolated itself from the outside world since March 2020. Strict border controls and quarantine requirements are intended to prevent the virus from being introduced from abroad. This made New Zealand a role model in the fight against Corona: Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have only been 26 deaths from Covid-19. In April, the government opened a travel corridor with neighboring Australia, but it was closed again at the end of July due to a corona wave at the larger neighbor.
After a single domestically transmitted corona case, the New Zealand government imposed a three-day nationwide corona lockdown on Tuesday. It was the first domestic transmission of the coronavirus in six months. According to the Ministry of Health, it was a 58-year-old in Auckland, the largest city in the country.
Vaccinations approved for 12 to 15 year olds
The nationwide lockdown has been extended due to the increasing corona cases. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday in the capital Wellington that the strict requirements in the entire Pacific state will now apply at least until Saturday. Previously, 35 new cases had become known. Most of the contagions from the current outbreak have been recorded in Auckland, New Zealand’s North Island, the country’s largest city. The capital itself is also affected.
Most of the shops and schools are now closed. Ardern said: “We need more information. We don’t want to take any chances with Delta. If the world has taught us anything, it is to be careful with this variant.”
In order to cope with the corona outbreak, the island nation has approved vaccinations for 12 to 15 year olds with funds from Pfizer / Biontech. Vaccinations are possible from September 1st, said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern last Thursday. Children and adolescents of this age group could also be vaccinated immediately if they accompanied their parents to their appointments. According to a report in the New Zealand Herald newspaper, some children and young people were vaccinated shortly after Ardern’s statement. So far, corona vaccinations were allowed in the country for people aged 16 and over.
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