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There is a concerning amount of misinformation on social media at present, but what is most concerning is seeing easily correctable misinformation spread by overseas commentators about New Zealand’s successful and popular COVID-19 strategy. Here’s a thread on better NZ info /1 https://twitter.com/berniespofforth/status/1320860041910591489
Firstly, just to get it out of the way, our positive Covid cases are not being sent to camps. Our managed isolation facilities are predominantly repurposed hotels. https://www.miq.govt.nz/being-in-managed-isolation/isolation-facilities/facility-locations/. As you can see, many in Auckland, the largest city, are 5-star hotels (in the CBD) /2
Looking at conditions within these managed isolation facilities, there have been some helpful articles from people who’ve stayed in them. These aren’t camps. I particularly enjoyed the review of one facility where barista coffees were delivered /3 https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/19-07-2020/the-ultimate-guide-to-new-zealand-quarantine-and-managed-isolation-hotels/
And this travellers experience describing differences between “brutal isolation” in Australia vs pleasant in NZ actually made a few of us worry our facilities were too lax - perhaps a concern validated by the Auckland outbreak, recently extinguished https://i.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/122848275/coronavirus-managed-isolation-in-nz-humane-compared-to-brutal-australia /4
Now NZ was the first country in the world to give women the vote and has a proud history of activism. If Ardern was a fascist, you might trust kiwis to detect that. Instead, she was re-elected with a historic 1-in-50 year landslide majority https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300135131/election-2020-jacinda-ardern-claims-biggest-labour-victory-in-50-years /5
Here is political commentator (and Ardern opposer, lets be honest), Matthew Hooton, acknowledging just how significant this landslide victory is: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/election-results-2020-matthew-hooton-jacinda-ardern-joins-the-pantheon/IOW6L4D23S34IQO75DDWF2AKJY/ /6
Because no one reading this is likely to have a @nzherald subscription, here is a quote: “Jacinda Ardern has secured the greatest victory of any Prime Minister under MMP.
At 50 per cent, Ardern joins a pantheon that, since the 1930s, includes...” /7
At 50 per cent, Ardern joins a pantheon that, since the 1930s, includes...” /7
“... only the father of the welfare state Michael Joseph Savage (56 per cent in 1938), war leader Peter Fraser (51 per cent in 1946) and the scourge of the watersiders Sid Holland (54 per cent in 1951).”
So where can you get good info on NZ’s COVID-19 response?
/8
So where can you get good info on NZ’s COVID-19 response?
/8
A great place to understand what steps have been taken is the published literature from NZ public health experts and epidemiologists.
How did we eliminate the virus for 102 days the first time? Read @NEJM piece by Baker: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2025203 /9
How did we eliminate the virus for 102 days the first time? Read @NEJM piece by Baker: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2025203 /9
To understand the epidemiological dynamics of our first wave and our lockdown, test, trace and isolate strategy, read this piece in @TheLancetPH: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30225-5/fulltext /10
To understand how our strategy overlaps and differs from quite probably the world’s gold standard response - Taiwan - who neither locked down now have had sustained outbreaks, read this in @TheLancet: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanwpc/article/PIIS2666-6065(20)30044-4/fulltext /11
To understand what our current COVID-19 situation is and what alert level (from 1 to 4) we are at, see our official page: https://covid19.govt.nz and our ministry of health daily updates here: https://www.health.govt.nz/news-media/media-releases/1-new-imported-case-covid-19-no-new-community-cases /12
As you can see, today (27th Oct): “There is one new case of COVID-19 in managed isolation and no new community cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand today...The total number of active cases is 68.” /13
Our 5-star hotel managed isolation and quarantine facilities and are busy with New Zealanders who - this is VIP - are choosing to return here from overseas. There are actually very few kiwis (relative to overseas) *from the community* at any one time in quarantine in NZ. /14
Going into quarantine after testing positive *is* a sacrifice of freedoms, but it keeps household loved ones safe and it stamps out the outbreak faster. It is free and provides helpful medical care. In NZ we are developing a culture of being grateful for this action /15
So please don’t retweet or share dubious material about Aotearoa NZ before checking your sources against trustworthy info. And please don’t bash NZ to try to sure up your own position if things are bad where you are. We want every country to do well, and not be harmed. Peace /end
Addendum! A short subtweet on why it is not “forcible removal” when you enter NZ (travellers to NZ must “book” a spot before they arrive), and also how having quarantine facilities follows best WHO pandemic management gold standard: https://twitter.com/drjinrussell/status/1321145452545241090
