Why New Zealand, one of the countries which has best managed the Covid-19 crisis, is reconfiguring itself – Ouest-France evening edition – 08/18/2021 – Ouest-France

Faced with the Covid-19 pandemic, New Zealand is reconfiguring itself, since Wednesday August 18, 2021 and for at least three days. These strict restrictions came into effect after a man was infected with the coronavirus. It was the first case of local transmission since February, in a country which has managed the health crisis particularly well.

Deserted streets, completely empty expressways, inhabitants coming out of supermarkets with carts full of provisions… These scenes took place in several big cities of New Zealand, Wednesday August 18, 2021, as shown by images broadcast by public radio RNZ.

The approximately 5 million inhabitants of the Pacific archipelago are once again called to stay at home : a new confinement entered into force Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. and for at least three days, due to the pandemic of Covid-19.

These restrictions were put in place after the discovery of a man’s contamination with the coronavirus in Auckland, the country’s largest city. It was the first case of local transmission of the virus since February 2021, specifies the British daily The Guardian – infections have certainly been detected on the territory, but at the New Zealand borders.

Across the country, which managed the health crisis particularly well, ten cases of Covid-19 have now been identified, according to the latest figures from the authorities. And the epidemic focus could reach 120 cases, according to estimates from the health services cited by the daily The New Zealand Herald .

“Fortress New Zealand”

In New Zealand, residents can now only leave their homes to buy basic necessities, for medical reasons, to go to their place of work under certain conditions or to exercise near their homes. , according to the terms of this new confinement.

These strict restrictions are reminiscent of those that have been put in place in France or elsewhere in Europe, to deal with previous waves of contamination. This situation stems from the strategy “Zero Covid” implemented, so far successfully, by the New Zealand authorities.

The country, which deplores 26 deaths from Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, succeeded in containing the advance of the virus with this method aimed at eliminating its circulation rather than living with it.

The authorities have thus put in place local containments intended to slow the progression of the disease and relied on systems for tracing contact cases and effective quarantine, in particular.

The island country, nicknamed “Fortress New Zealand” by the English-speaking media, has also closed its borders until at least the beginning of the year 2022, as the press agency recalls Reuters. They should only be reopened to vaccinated travelers arriving from certain countries.

Faced with the Delta variant, “we only have one chance”

In New Zealand, the ten confirmed cases of Covid-19 are linked to the highly transmissible Delta variant, further emphasizes The New Zealand Herald .

Read also: They allowed you to move around despite the Covid-19, here’s how the travel bubbles burst

“We are one of the last countries in the world to have seen the Delta variant appear among our population”, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday, in remarks reported by the American television station CNN.

The arrival of the variant “Means that we must once again act fast and hard to stop the spread [du virus]. ” An imperative, especially as in New Zealand, the vaccination campaign is progressing rather slowly: a little less than 18% of the residents of the archipelago have received their two injections, and a little more than 12% a single dose, according to website figures Our World in Data.

“We only have one chance” to stem the number of infections, added Jacinda Ardern, quoted by The Guardian . She mentioned the “Disastrous consequences” of a “Reaction time too long” in the face of the variant, which manifested themselves in particular “With our neighbors”.

A reference to theAustralia, another country that has bet on the “zero Covid” strategy. Sydney, the largest city on the island-continent, has been confined for nearly two months now but still breaks sad records of contamination, the Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday (August 18th).

” The worst is yet to come “, released Gladys Berejiklian, Prime Minister of the Australian state of New South Wales, where the metropolis is located. She urged the people of the region to stay at home. Across Australia, more than half of the country’s 25 million people are now confined.