[imagesource: Birgit Krippner/Bloomberg News]

As America’s confirmed coronavirus cases tops 400 000, and the death toll nears 13 000, the merits of taking early action become clearer than ever.

It was a hoax, it was a liberal freak-out and meltdown, and now the bodies are stacking up.

South Africa has been praised for our “ruthless efficiency” thus far, but it’s New Zealand that may have had the best success rate so far.

The Washington Post reports that the country “isn’t just flattening the curve… [but] squashing it”, through the enforcement of lockdown laws not that different from our own.

Clearly, it helps when you’re an island nation isolated from the rest of the world, but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern deserves credit for taking decisive steps early on:

It took only 10 days for signs that the approach here — “elimination” rather than the “containment” goal of the United States and other Western countries — is working.

The number of new cases has fallen for two consecutive days, despite a huge increase in testing, with 54 confirmed or probable cases reported Tuesday. That means the number of people who have recovered, 65, exceeds the number of daily infections.

See the latest numbers here.

On the back of these promising results, some have called for a loosening of the restrictions currently in place.

Ardern isn’t having it:

Ardern is adamant that New Zealand will complete four weeks of lockdown — two full 14-day incubation cycles — before letting up. She has, however, given the Easter Bunny special dispensation to work this weekend.

It’s true – she even held a press conference:

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern confirms Easter Bunny is classed as an “essential worker” but it might be “difficult for the bunny to get everywhere” in current circumstances.

Tooth fairy also confirmed as an essential worker. pic.twitter.com/Jv6o4t2tkG

— Daniel Rosney (@DanielRosney) April 6, 2020

When looking at why Kiwis have taken the PM’s advice to heart, it really comes down to a single, coherent message:

From the earliest stages, Ar­dern and her team have spoken in simple language: Stay home. Don’t have contact with anyone outside your household “bubble.” Be kind. We’re all in this together.

She’s usually done this from the podium of news conferences where she has discussed everything from the price of cauliflowers to wage subsidies. But she also regularly gives updates and answers questions on Facebook, including one done while sitting at home — possibly on her bed — in a sweatshirt.

…there has been a sense of collective purpose… [and] the response has been notably apolitical. The center-right National Party has clearly made a decision not to criticize the government’s response — and in fact to help it.

These efforts appear to be paying off.

That simple, single message must be nice. Meanwhile, here at home, we’re forced to joke about which South African minister is handling the COVID-19 pandemic the worst.

New Zealand’s efforts are far from over, and once the virus is eliminated, the challenge becomes keeping it that way.

That’s something they seem ready to tackle:

The government won’t be able to allow people free entry into New Zealand until the virus has stopped circulating globally or a vaccine has been developed, [Michael Baker, a professor of public health at the University of Otago] said. But with strict border control, restrictions could be gradually relaxed, and life inside New Zealand could return to almost normal.

Ardern has said her government is considering mandatory quarantine for New Zealanders returning to the country post-lockdown. “I really want a watertight system at our border,” she said this week, “and I think we can do better on that.”

Perhaps most importantly, New Zealand has an empathetic leader that understands she is a public servant, and has the interests and safety of her citizens at the forefront of every decision she makes.

That is in short supply in some countries around the world.

[source:washpost]