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Behind the high overall rates, there remain significant pockets of unvaccinated people in New Zealand, especially in the regions, and among the indigenous Maori population. This is not to say that the issue hasn’t been divisive. As we also saw in Australia, nothing concentrates the mind when it comes to vaccinations like a prolonged lockdown. Still, while this was eventually abandoned, 86% of New Zealanders are now double-jabbed, making it one of the most vaccinated countries in the world. More from this author New Zealand's Zero Covid delusion In response, the government tied the lifting of lockdowns to the vaccination rate, setting a very high target of 90% before restrictions would be eased. As a result, less than 20% of the population was fully vaccinated when Delta arrived in August, leaving it unprepared for the outbreak. One consequence of the New Zealand model was complacency when it came to the roll-out, with many convinced that the country could take its time while the pandemic raged elsewhere. What’s more, it hasn’t necessarily dealt with them any better. Contrary to its claims of exceptionalism, throughout the current Delta outbreak, it has shown itself to be a normal country just like every other: faced with the same dilemmas, failures, trade-offs and divisions when it comes to dealing with the pandemic. While the situation still compares very favourably to many parts of the world, New Zealand’s sheen has started to come off. Nevertheless, Auckland’s “snap lockdown” - meant to last for two weeks - has now dragged on for over 100 days, with predictable consequences for children’s schooling, mental health and the economy. Admitting defeat, the Government formally abandoned elimination as a strategy in October. Case numbers refused to budge, totalling more than 8,400 for the current outbreak, while deaths have nearly doubled to 43. While the outbreak was contained to Auckland, the key pillars of New Zealand’s model - contact tracing and tough lockdown restrictions severely curtailing people’s movements - proved no match for the infectiousness of the Delta strain. This was always a gamble and a race against time one which Ardern lost this August, when a cautious re-opening of the border to Australia led to the arrival of the Delta variant, and sparked a new outbreak.ĭespite the fact no country had managed to eliminate Delta, the Government reverted to its tried and tested approach, closing the limited openings at the border, announcing a snap lockdown, and re-committing to eliminating the virus. As such, there was a need for an exit strategy, which seemed to centre on vaccinating the whole population before the virus got in.
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Secondly, the New Zealand model could never be sustained long-term, once it became clear that global elimination of the virus was unlikely. More from this author Inside Melbourne's eternal lockdown