What a headline this is. We’ve had over 200,000 cases of Covid in England during the last week alone and we’re pretty well fully opened up, yet our old Commonwealth buddies shut down their whole country when one person gets the virus. I do not pretend to be an expert on any of this stuff, but I do support the ending of restrictions in England, albeit not necessarily at the breakneck speed employed by Boris Johnson. You can see why New Zealand is operating a zero Covid strategy, but for how long can it be sustained?
At least you can see the idea in England. Johnson wants to let Covid run wild among the younger generation throughout the summer, with us old codgers already being vaccinated. That way, herd immunity will be built up and real life can carry on. In New Zealand, what’s the plan beyond zero Covid?
If a country finally opens up to the world, it is virtually certain some bugger will bring Covid along. You can test, vaccinate and quarantine all you like, but as sure as eggs are eggs – and eggs are definitely eggs – you will get cases emerging. When and if New Zealand opens its doors, the same thing is bound to happen there. Does PM Jessica Ardern lock down every time a plane lands, because if she does the Kiwis will be spending 24/7 at home and the country will grind to a halt.
New Zealand has had a very impressive pandemic so far and they should be admired for that. Having few densely populated cities and towns can’t have harmed their efforts. I doubt whether in a place like England we could do what Ardern has done, even with a better prime minister than Johnson.
It will be interesting to see where Ardern takes the country when the worst of the pandemic is over, assuming it ever is. Covid is here forever. Locking down forever can’t be the answer, can it?
