We definitely had some luck early on - really defined clusters - making up more than half the cases . We had no super spreader going everywhere.
We probably should of closed down a week earlier - but was full tourist season - lots of export dollars pouring in . The Govt allowed St Patrick's day to go ahead - amazing only 1 small cluster in a smaller town from it . Saying that NZers did a great job during lockdown - of following rules - So annoyed some of us later when Govt actions at border were worst than general population - like allowing some mingling, early releases in to community with no testing ( that's why we had no positives for quite a few weeks - as none of arrivals or border workers were being tested - border workers only got tested much later after more incompetency ) - When friends and family had kept their bubbles during lockdown
Jan 14: WHO repeats China's claim that Covid-19 does not spread human-to-human, despite data from Taiwan demonstrating otherwise.WHO reported on the outbreak in China on the 5th January
I don't believe you realize what, in epidemiological terms, the phrase "community spread" means. It is the point at which there are significant numbers of cases which cannot be traced to an origin. It is a basic staple of epidemiology that, once community spread has occurred, resources should be focused on community mitigation, as containment is no longer possible.I completely disagree with your assertion that testing and contract tracing is ineffective once you have community spread. That's exactly what is needed to get control of it
Yeah we did. Any case that you don't know where it came from is community spread, hence why test and trace, so you know. That's the value of testing and tracing. To find out where it came from and how widespread it is. I guess you could just try the wait for people to drop dead and assume they died from it or complications from it. I hope not.Jan 14: WHO repeats China's claim that Covid-19 does not spread human-to-human, despite data from Taiwan demonstrating otherwise.
Jan 21: WHO repeats assertion that Covid-19 poses no world health threat.
Feb 3: WHO criticizes US for instituting travel bans against China, calling them "unnecessary" as China has the outbreak "well contained".
Mar 3: WHO, citing data from China, says Covid spreads "much less efficiently than the flu", and that all but 1% of carriers have symptoms. This statement is immediately criticized as false by public health officials in South Korea, Japan, and elsewhere.
Mar 11: WHO finally declares Covid a pandemic, and admits it is highly infectious.
I don't believe you realize what, in epidemiological terms, the phrase "community spread" means. It is the point at which there are significant numbers of cases which cannot be traced to an origin. It is a basic staple of epidemiology that, once community spread has occurred, resources should be focused on community mitigation, as containment is no longer possible.
New Zealand never experienced community spread. The United States -- along with nations such as Italy -- not only experienced community spread, but did so before China and the WHO was even admitting there was a problem.
I didnt take it seriously at first either but as I was overseas late Jan I realised it was turning into a big deal. Airport hubs like Changi in Singapore had rolled out temperature checkers, and were double checking people who had been in known hotspots and there were quite a few by then.I think to be fair - I don't think many of the general populations in January and a lot of February were not too concerned . I mean we had SARS , Avian flu was it MERs? as well - They all turned out fine -except from memory places like HongKong and the Middle East - The NZ govt stocked up on Tamiflu - some folks said he was a waste of money. ie just another inflection out of China due to close proximity to wildlife/domestic animals and humans
And each and every one of them arrives by plane at an airport, where they can be easily held and screened. Or-- in this case-- halted entirely. As an island nation, New Zealand has no land borders to seal.
Spain and Italy? Those 2 countries are known for how terrible of a response they had, how can you even consider comparing them to South Korea? You should read more about what actually happened in Italy.And nations like Belgium, Spain, Italy took those same measures and have death rates as high or higher than the US. Also, a nation like South Korea can (and did) institute mandatory GPS cell-phone tracking and credit-card tracking of all citizens to enable contact-tracing of infections, as well as many other actions which are clearly unconstitutional in the United States.
To quantify the effect of Hawaii's lack of a land border, you eliminate as many other variables as possible, I.e. you compare it to the rest of the United States. Hawaii's death rate is 1/5 the level of the US a whole. That's the result of a lack of land borders.Yeah nah. Hawaii: 14183 cases, population 1.416 million, no land border to seal. Deaths: 186....The "NZ land borders" argument is a commonly repeated fallacy.
No. All cases have an unknown origin until tracked. Community spread is defined as a significant number of cases for which the origin cannot be tracked. This is why basic epidemiology states that once community spread has occurred, resources should be devoted to mitigation, not containment.Yeah we did. Any case that you don't know where it came from is community spread, hence why test and trace.
It may be popular, but its still government-mandated, and in the US, unconstitutional. It's also not nearly as 'anonymous' as you might think:As for South Korea tracking where COVID confirmed cases went to, it's actually something supported by its citizens...
Not without a warrant in a criminal investigation.FYI the US can also track you by using your credit card transactions and it does.
Yes Feb 28th was our first case, so we did have a little bit of time compared to some countriesBut other nations which did exactly the same were slammed hard. New Zealand benefitted not only from being an isolated island nation a thousand miles from anywhere, but even more importantly in that its case zero came very late, after China had stopped denying that Covid spread through human-to-human contact. Many other nations had already achieved community spread before New Zealand even had this first case.
Yep the WHO and China made matters so much worse for everyone and we are still paying the price!Jan 14: WHO repeats China's claim that Covid-19 does not spread human-to-human, despite data from Taiwan demonstrating otherwise.
Jan 21: WHO repeats assertion that Covid-19 poses no world health threat.
Feb 3: WHO criticizes US for instituting travel bans against China, calling them "unnecessary" as China has the outbreak "well contained".
Mar 3: WHO, citing data from China, says Covid spreads "much less efficiently than the flu", and that all but 1% of carriers have symptoms. This statement is immediately criticized as false by public health officials in South Korea, Japan, and elsewhere.
Mar 11: WHO finally declares Covid a pandemic, and admits it is highly infectious.
I don't believe you realize what, in epidemiological terms, the phrase "community spread" means. It is the point at which there are significant numbers of cases which cannot be traced to an origin. It is a basic staple of epidemiology that, once community spread has occurred, resources should be focused on community mitigation, as containment is no longer possible.
New Zealand never experienced community spread. The United States -- along with nations such as Italy -- not only experienced community spread, but did so before China and the WHO was even admitting there was a problem.
Taiwan is worth considering too really
Much depends on who wins the US election. The Obama Administration (with Joe Biden as point man for Chinese foreign policy) blocked the sale of 66 F-16s to Taiwan, despite approval for the package by Congress and the US DoD. The Trump Administration restored that deal, and has recently notified Congress that it intends to provide Taiwan with even more advanced weapons systems:Is it really? It's very close to being the flashpoint for WW3. China *is* going to attempt to reclaim Taiwan and I don't believe the EU or US can allow that
Much depends on who wins the US election. The Obama Administration (with Joe Biden as point man for Chinese foreign policy) blocked the sale of 66 F-16s to Taiwan, despite approval for the package by Congress and the US DoD. The Trump Administration restored that deal, and has recently notified Congress that it intends to provide Taiwan with even more advanced weapons systems:
US To Sell Taiwan New Long-Range Weapons to Counter Chinese Aggression
I'm not sure thats true. It might have been during the Obama era but the entire western world is seeing China in a new light. Covid didn't help that but Hong Kong has been the primary push for those on the left. China is rapidly using up its global goodwill and I believe that doing so is part of their plan. They don't feel they *need* the approval of the world anymore and so are starting to implement policies and plans they have intended to implement all along.
It would be very unfortunate if he went back on the deal and it would likely embolden China to go ahead and take Taiwan if it wasn't already planned.
Is it really? It's very close to being the flashpoint for WW3. China *is* going to attempt to reclaim Taiwan and I don't believe the EU or US can allow that currently considering how much of the silicon industry is located there.
It's also a much higher population density with much higher real-estate costs.
As for covid-19, NZ is only a model if you ignore all the citizens and permanent residents who are trapped outside the country while their businesses and lives are destroyed because they can't return. Or the fact that there is a clear class structure about who gets in and who doesn't (got a private jet? Come on in! A lower income permanent resident? Tough, im sure you'll get home next year some time. Chin up!).
Is it really? It's very close to being the flashpoint for WW3. China *is* going to attempt to reclaim Taiwan and I don't believe the EU or US can allow that currently considering how much of the silicon industry is located there.
It's also a much higher population density with much higher real-estate costs.
As for covid-19, NZ is only a model if you ignore all the citizens and permanent residents who are trapped outside the country while their businesses and lives are destroyed because they can't return. Or the fact that there is a clear class structure about who gets in and who doesn't (got a private jet? Come on in! A lower income permanent resident? Tough, im sure you'll get home next year some time. Chin up!).
No, China has the most expensive real estate in the world, and the funny part is the only landlord in China is CCP.