New Zealand wages high-stakes effort tohalt virus outbreak27 August 2021, by Nick Perry

People walk along a beach in Auckland, New Zealand,Wednesday Aug. 25, 2021. By early next week, NewZealanders should know if their government's strict newlockdown is working to stamp out its first coronavirusoutbreak in six months. A successful effort could againmake the nation's virus response the envy of the world.Credit: Michael Craig/NZ Herald via AP

By early next week, New Zealanders should knowif their government's strict new lockdown is workingto stamp out its first coronavirus outbreak in sixmonths.

A successful effort could again make the nation'svirus response the envy of the world. A failurecould expose flaws in its health system, including ashortage of hospital beds and a slow vaccinerollout.

The high-stakes campaign hinges on whether newinfections, which have risen for the past 10 days,begin to drop.

Last week, the government put the nation into thefull lockdown after only a single community casewas detected in the city of Auckland..

"It's counterintuitive," said epidemiologist MichaelBaker. "When there's a threat, you usually increasethe response as it gets more dangerous. Here,we're doing the opposite, with the maximumresponse when the threat is tiny."

It's a strategy that has worked incredibly well forNew Zealand but faces its biggest test against atougher enemy: the highly contagious delta variantof the virus. Baker, a professor at the University ofOtago, said the strategy was the best approach andhe was optimistic it would succeed again.

Since the pandemic began, New Zealand hasreported only 26 deaths from the virus in apopulation of 5 million. The death rate per capita inBritain and the U.S. is about 400 times higher.Remarkably, life expectancy for New Zealandersactually rose in 2020 as virus measures helpedreduce other seasonal ailments like the flu.

People cross nearly empty streets in the central businessdistrict of Auckland, New Zealand, Friday Aug. 27, 2021.By early next week, New Zealanders should know if theirgovernment's strict new lockdown is working to stamp outits first coronavirus outbreak in six months. A successfuleffort could again make the nation's virus response theenvy of the world. Credit: Michael Craig/NZ Herald via AP

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The U.S. is in the grip of a wave of infectionpowered by the delta variant, which has sent cases,deaths and hospitalizations soaring again, wipingout months of progress.

New Zealanders lived virus-free in the six monthsleading up to the latest outbreak, going toworkplaces, stores and sports stadiums withoutneeding to wear masks, while children attendedschool.

Then a traveler returning from Sydney brought thedelta variant and it somehow escaped from aquarantine hotel. The outbreak has grown to about350 known cases and is straining New Zealand'scontact-tracing system as workers try to track down30,000 other people who might have beenexposed.

New Zealand has a large diaspora of Pacific Islandpeople. The outbreak has hit this communityparticularly hard after spreading at a Samoanchurch event that drew hundreds. That led to someracist attacks on social media.

The Parliament buildings stand in the central businessdistrict of Wellington, New Zealand, Friday, Aug. 27,2021. By early next week, New Zealanders should knowif their government's strict new lockdown is working tostamp out its first coronavirus outbreak in six months. Asuccessful effort could again make the nation's virusresponse the envy of the world. Credit: AP Photo /NickPerry

"This is disappointing and, frankly, gutless," saidAshley Bloomfield, the director-general of publichealth. "I'm asking everyone in the country to bekind."

The lockdown prevents most people from leavinghome other than to exercise, or to buy groceries ormedicine. Retail stores are closed, as arerestaurants—including takeout—schools and mostbusinesses.

While much of the world is learning to live with thevirus and has moved away from hard lockdowns,most New Zealanders still embrace them.

"Fortunately, there's a great team spirit," saidLesley Gray, a public health specialist at theUniversity of Otago. "It's quite obvious to me thatthe country would rather keep this out. We want tostamp it out, keep it out."

Among the handful of other places that havesuccessfully pursued virus elimination strategiesare China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.

The streets are nearly empty in the central businessdistrict of Wellington, New Zealand, Friday, Aug. 27,2021. By early next week, New Zealanders should knowif their government's strict new lockdown is working tostamp out its first coronavirus outbreak in six months. Asuccessful effort could again make the nation's virusresponse the envy of the world. Credit: AP Photo /NickPerry

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Nearby Australia stamped out previous outbreaksbut leaders say they can't get rid of the deltavariant, which has continued to spread in Sydneydespite a two-month lockdown. New South Walesstate Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she'll easerestrictions for vaccinated adults next month,despite record infection numbers reaching morethan 1,000 a day.

George Williams, a constitutional law expert at theUniversity of New South Wales, said that while hesupports the Sydney lockdown, he also sees risksin the government getting too comfortable in usingits extraordinary powers.

"They're pretty draconian, quite authoritarianmeasures, which would be unthinkable outside apandemic," he said, noting that unlike in manydemocracies, Australians aren't protected by a Billof Rights.

Some Australians also are tiring of lockdowns.Hundreds have been arrested and given heavyfines this month for defying health orders atprotests.

The streets are nearly empty in the central businessdistrict of Wellington, New Zealand, Friday, Aug. 27,2021. By early next week, New Zealanders should knowif their government's strict new lockdown is working tostamp out its first coronavirus outbreak in six months. Asuccessful effort could again make the nation's virusresponse the envy of the world. Credit: AP Photo /NickPerry

In New Zealand, where the lockdown is evenstricter, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster saidabout 70 protesters and other rule-breakers havebeen arrested since it began, but he's happy withthe overall level of compliance.

With little else to do, many New Zealanders watchdaily news conferences held by Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern and others. Like a slow-movingforensic drama, the briefings outline the latestinfections, places those people visited and genome-sequencing results.

There have been moments of levity, such as whenCOVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkinsmisspoke about exercising outdoors, saying peoplecould go "spread their legs"—a comment quicklymocked on social media.

But there will be serious consequences if thelockdown fails.

New Zealand's vaccine rollout has been the slowestof any developed nation, with only 39% of peoplehaving gotten at least one shot and 22% fullyvaccinated. The country chose to use only thePfizer vaccine and didn't approve its use until twomonths after U.S. regulators first approved it foremergency use.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gesturesduring her COVID-19 response and vaccine update inWellington, New Zealand, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. Byearly next week, New Zealanders should know if theirgovernment's strict new lockdown is working to stamp out

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its first coronavirus outbreak in six months. A successfuleffort could again make the nation's virus response theenvy of the world. Credit: Mark Mitchell/Pool Photo viaAP

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern walks to herCOVID-19 response and vaccine update in Wellington,New Zealand, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. By early nextweek, New Zealanders should know if their government'sstrict new lockdown is working to stamp out its firstcoronavirus outbreak in six months. A successful effortcould again make the nation's virus response the envy ofthe world. Credit: Mark Mitchell/Pool Photo via AP

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gesturesduring her COVID-19 response and vaccine update inWellington, New Zealand, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. Byearly next week, New Zealanders should know if theirgovernment's strict new lockdown is working to stamp out

its first coronavirus outbreak in six months. A successfuleffort could again make the nation's virus response theenvy of the world. Credit: Mark Mitchell/Pool Photo viaAP

The government blames the initial slowness of therollout on Pfizer's delivery schedule.

But opposition lawmaker Chris Bishop said thegovernment's "negligent execution of the rollout hasleft New Zealand a sitting duck for the deltavariant."

Vaccinations have sped up rapidly since theoutbreak began, with health workers now givingdoses to nearly 2% of the population every day.

Another challenge is a lack of intensive-carehospital beds. A recent report by a group of expertsnoted that at the pandemic's start, New Zealandhad fewer than one-third the number than theaverage in developed nations, and little hadchanged since then.

"The New Zealand health system is still poorlyresourced to deal with any large outbreak of adisease such as COVID-19," the report found.

Many New Zealanders are desperate to visitrelatives abroad and want to know when thelockdowns will end and the borders will reopen.Ardern, the prime minister, has promised a cautiousreopening early next year but has given fewspecifics.

"For now, while we vaccinate, elimination is thegoal," she said. "And we can do it."

© 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast,rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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