New Zealand has gone 100 days without recording a single case of community transmission of coronavirus, something that seems hard to imagine compared to the battle Australia is facing.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern plunged her nation into one of the harshest lockdowns in the world in March and has reaped the rewards since, with the last case of community transmission on May 1. That was just 63 days after the island nation of five million reported its first infection on February 28. New Zealand has recorded 1,219 infections and 22 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
The numbers are a drop in the ocean when compared to other countries still battling thousands of cases and deaths. Australia had reported 20,272 coronavirus cases as of Friday August 7. The national death tally scaled to 278 after Victoria recored 466 infections and 12 new cases on Saturday. The state is grappling with a deadly second wave of infections following alleged safety breaches within their hotel quarantine program.
There are more than 19.2 million coronavirus cases across the world and at least 719,800 people have died.
THREE MEASURES FOR NEW ZEALAND'S SUCCESS
- Shutting the border to everyone except to citizens, permanent residents and their families to stop coronavirus from entering
- Strict lockdown to stop COVID-19 from spreading within the community
- Ongoing control: Testing, contact tracing and quarantine
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