Tag: #New Zealand

New Cases of Covid-19 Break Out Again in New Zealand

On Tuesday, New Zealand announced that Auckland, its largest city, would be shutting down since 4 new cases has been found in the city.  It is the first case of domestic transmission for the nation after remaining covid free for 102 days.

New Zealand’s fight against Covid was recognised across the world. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was congratulated for her effective method and governance. A vigorous and decisive response to the pandemic had effectively curbed down the rates of infection. The Pacific island nation of 5 million citizens was considered to be the safest place as it remained Covid free for 100 days at a stretch. It had made a record of zero new cases of community transmission of Covid-19. From a first case on Feb 26 to the last one recorded on May 1st, the whole process of elimination took about 65 days. The nation was placed under lockdown for weeks when the virus first broke out and it had achieved a milestone of 100 days. The last case was recorded on May 1st. The government had warned from before as countries like Australia and Vietnam which were once free from the virus are now fighting a second battle.

The Director General of Health had said that the 4 new cases are from a single family in South Auckland. It is the first local case in 102 days. The patients had no international travel history and contact tracing has been started.

With the announcement of shutdown, media reports suggested that people have started panic buying. The Prime Minister has made a surprise news conference and announced that Auckland will have Level 3 restriction from Wednesday as a “precautionary approach”. According to it, people should be staying at home, away from work, school or any social gathering. Any gathering of more than 10 people will not be allowed. This restriction would be applicable for 3 days, until Friday. This was done to assess the situation and gain further information about contact tracing. Immediate steps have been taken to find the source of the infection and to prevent further spread. There is an added concern because the source of the virus is not known this time. Travelling to Auckland, on North Island, would be restricted for people other than the ones who live there. The rest of New Zealand would go into Level 2 restriction from Wednesday for 3 days. Social gatherings would be restricted and mass gatherings over 100 people would not be allowed. Since sources are unknown for the new cases, it is expected that there could be a rise in numbers in the coming few days.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has said, “I am urging Aucklanders to come together like we did last time to stamp out community transmission. Please remain calm, please do not panic buy and please follow the lockdown rules.” People have been instructed to use masks and to avoid all kinds of social gathering. Jacinda Ardern has told reporters, “No other country in the world was free of community transmission as long as New Zealand. Together we have beaten the virus before. We can do so again.”

New Zealand elections are scheduled to happen on September 19. The break of new cases was unexpected. Till now, the government has fought against the situation and done quite well as a result  Ardern’s Labour Party has got a lot of support before the elections.

Delhi’s mismanaged fight with Corona virus

Corona virus or as its scientifically referred as Covid-19 has brought the world to its knees. How it got here, who is responsible, when will the vaccine be created and many other questions regarding to it are up to debate. However, one thing that is definitely the need of the hour is to get this disease to a halt, to decrease the number of patients. What the world needs, is a game plan which can deliver successful results. We need to flatten the curve should we want to open up the country again. So far India hasn’t shown such promise, with the number of cases increasing every day, we see a sharp increase in the graph since the partial reopening. One such country that boasts xero cases is New Zealand.

New Zealand has been able to reduce its number of cases to the point where they were able to announce zero reported cases due to a number of reasons. They have a rather small population, only 5 million or so, which is much lesser than most of the worst hit nations, India included. Another major factor is the decisive and fast action that the New Zealand government took to ensure rapid containment of the disease. They also used stringent lockdown measures in order to decrease the rate of spread of infection. Their alertness and strict policies ensured that the disease slowed due to a near inexistent halt. However, they were lucky enough that their population was low, because for a country the size of India, with its population density its very difficult to pull this task off. What doesn’t help is the state and central government bickering in order to gain an upper hand and increase their public popularity. Many states aren’t yet equipped to handle the sudden increase of patients. In Delhi, patients have to wander from hospital to hospital for treatment of coronavirus. Some of those admitted to hospitals have also gone missing. In Covid-designated Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital, the bodies could not be accounted for. Bodies of dead people are being piled up in hospitals such as state-run LNGP and centre-run Safdarjung hospital. With such ill-equipped state of various states across the country its hard not to feel disheartened and try to approach the courts. However, in many cases that too is no longer an option, as two advocates filed PILs in Delhi High court to ask for an extension of lockdown due to the increasing tread of number of cases. Both the PILs gave good points in favour of an extended lockdown in Delhi, as it would provide a much-needed breathing space to the facilities concerning the virus and also in some manner break the transmission cycle. The plea also gave forward estimates of one lakh COVID-19 cases in the national capital by end of June and the number would escalate to around 2.25 lakh by mid-July and over 5.5 lakh by July end which the Delhi government themselves admitted. Strict measures are of the utmost importance to stop the increasing graph. However, the Delhi HC declined the PILs and did not give reasons as to why they were not entertained.

What happens next is for all of us to see.