New York Times: New Zealand Could Pull Off Bold Goal of Eliminating Virus

While most countries are working on ways to contain the coronavirus, New Zealand has set itself a much more ambitious goal: eliminating it altogether.

...The virus "doesn't have superpowers,” said Helen Petousis-Harris, a vaccine expert at the University of Auckland. “Once transmission is stopped, it’s gone.”

Geography has helped. If any place could be described as socially distant it would be New Zealand, surrounded by stormy seas, with Antarctica to the south. With 5 million people spread across an area the size of Britain, even the cities aren't overly crowded.

And Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has taken bold steps, putting the country under a strict lockdown in late March, when only about 100 people had tested positive for the new virus.

...A study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that because of its reliance on tourism, New Zealand's economy could initially be one of the hardest-hit by the coronavirus among developed nations.

The government, which came into the crisis with its books in relatively good shape, has been handing out billions of dollars in temporary wage subsidies to try and prevent mass unemployment. More than half the nation's workforce has suddenly become reliant on government handouts.

Still, most people appear to support Ardern's strict lockdown... Google mobility data indicates there has been high compliance.

...One of the most symbolic casualties of the outbreak has been Air New Zealand. The airline had been a source of pride for many as it expanded internationally and won industry awards. In a series of frank updates, Chief Executive Greg Foran described how the carrier had reduced flights by 95% and would need to cut its workforce by at least 3,750.

...An unassuming official who spent a year working at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Bloomfield's calm and reassuring presence has turned him into an unlikely heartthrob.

Singer Maxwell Apse wrote a song about Bloomfield that has been viewed more than 75,000 times on YouTube. “If I had one wish, I would make it this: I'd be in your bubble,” go the lyrics.

When New Zealand does come out of its bubble, the path forward remains unclear. It will need to continue relying on its traditional strength in farming to sell things abroad like dairy products, kiwifruit and wine.

Some have suggested the country could first reopen its borders to Australia, which has also been successful in flattening its virus curve.

England-Hall, the tourism executive, said New Zealand will look to first rebuild the domestic tourism market. He said being virus-free could eventually become a selling point abroad for the country.

The conundrum is that to stay virus-free, New Zealand may need to continue its current requirement that new arrivals spend two weeks in quarantine. Given that the average tourist in the past has stayed for about 11 days, it seems an insurmountable obstacle.

Ever the optimist, England-Hall foresees a new type of tourism product in which wealthy people could be pampered during a quarantine period — a kind of isolation spa.

But with travel curtailed, some worry that New Zealand could revert to a more insular version of itself, before cheap flights allowed its citizens to roam the world, and foreigners to visit. A place where isolation can be both a blessing and a curse.

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/04/20/business/ap-as-virus-outbreak-new-zealand-elimination.html