Why America is Succumbing to Coronavirus
A few weeks ago, I had a telehealth visit with one of my patients, who also happened to be a New Zealand native. She had just returned to the United States after a 2.5 month hiatus in her home country. Making the usual let’s-make-a-connection-before-we-start-talking-about-your-health small talk, I asked her how bad the Coronavirus pandemic was affecting New Zealand. There was an awkward pause on the other end, and for a second I thought that our connection had wigged out. But then she gave me a look as though I were I were from another planet and said to me “New Zealand’s eradicated the virus.”
If I hadn’t been a doctor needing to maintain professional decorum, I would have fallen out of my chair. My first thought was “I knew I should have moved to New Zealand in 2016 when Trump was elected president.” After I convinced myself that my patient was not joking and got over feeling like a complete idiot for not knowing that an entire country was now completely free of coronavirus, I became instantly obsessed with learning more about New Zealand. I needed to know how they succeeded where we as Americans have failed in astronomical proportions (if you don’t believe me, check out Johns Hopkin’s Covid-19 dashboard to see who is leading the world in number of confirmed cases and deaths). My patient was absolutely right — New Zealand did more than just “flatten the curve,” they obliterated it. For three weeks, New Zealand did not have a single new positive case anywhere in the country, to the point where their Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had lifted every restriction except for the closure of their international borders. That means their citizens could go about their daily lives without needing a mask or socially distance when they went out to buy groceries or eat in a restaurant. That means they could start working again and begin rebuilding their economy 4 months after their initial lockdown. That means that no more lives would be insensibly lost, and families no longer needed to live in fear that they would lose another loved one to this virus. And they did all of that without a vaccine. So what did they do right? And where are we going wrong? This is what I found out:
They took it seriously from the beginning and acted fast. On February 2, before there were any confirmed cases in New Zealand, they closed their borders to all foreign visitors, first from China, then Italy, South Korea and Iran. By March 16, they were closed for all international travel. Any New Zealander returning home had to quarantine for 14 days. Was this a drastic measure? Yes. Has anything ever been done like this before in the history of this country? No. Was the Prime Minister subjected to relentless criticism for being too excessive? Yes. Did it protect New Zealand citizens and their economy from the suck that is Covid-19? Absolutely yes.
They listened to their scientific leaders and followed WHO guidelines. The country’s leaders were not afraid to be the bad guys and put into place one of the strictest lockdowns in the world. They closed down all non-essential businesses and schools and mandated everyone shelter-in-place until further notice. Their four-stage alert system allowed the government to share consistent, clear messages on what activities were allowed on a daily basis. Meanwhile, we Americans are still debating whether Dr Anthony Fauci-an accomplished physician and immunologist who led the efforts to reduce the global spread of HIV/AIDS, one of the most highly cited researchers in the world, and receiver of countless prestigious awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom-is someone who actually knows what he’s talking about.
They didn’t make it political. Despite police handing out hundreds of citations to citizens found in breach of lockdown orders, the polls showed that over 80% of New Zealanders approved of the government’s measures. Wearing a mask is not a question of political freedom, it’s a matter of public health. Americans have valued freedom and individualism since before we were a country. But there is a difference between revolting against an oppressive government who raised taxes so high that you could no longer afford to feed your family and revolting against the request to protect yourself and others from a virus that doesn’t give a rat’s ass about your personal freedom. The justification for a universal mask mandate is the same reason that prevents you from running naked through your neighborhood — it’s imposes on the safety of others (and it’s just not cool). As a side note, stay tuned for a future post about debunking mask myths. For now I’ll just say this: Claiming a mask is detrimental to your health is just as unfounded as saying that a seatbelt causes austism. Bottom line – if there was ever a time to sacrifice a bit of your personal freedom, I’d say that a global freakin’ pandemic is a reasonable time to do it. Remember that in the end, being a Democrat or a Republican doesn’t make you any less susceptible to contracting the virus and dying from it. Let’s set aside our differences and agree to get our country on a path like New Zealand’s.
So it turns out in the end that there wasn’t some big secret that New Zealand used to eradicate coronavirus. They used a little bit of common sense mixed with a little bit of selflessness, and they are now rewarded with life returning back to normal (with the exception of international travel) after enduring 4 months of lockdown. Businesses and schools are back open now. No one has to wear a mask. No one has to socially distance. They can eat inside restaurants. They can hug their friends and family. They can live the life that Americans are fighting so hard for. The difference is that they’ve earned it.
Since the pandemic started, New Zealand has reported 1500 cases, and 22 deaths. They currently have 27 confirmed cases of the virus (all confined in quarantine facilities no matter how sick they are) for a population of 4.8 million people. They have been heralded by the WHO as a model for all other countries. They’ve literally laid out the game plan for us, so what are we waiting for? Let’s eradicate this damn virus and get on with our lives.
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