Coronavirus discussion thread

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Cheg Oct 2020 12:57am, 30 Oct 2020 1,978 posts	0 Cheg google.co.uk The highlights being 3rd February banned entry to NZ from China New Zealander's returning from China. Mandatory 14 day Isolation. 16th March almost all arrivals put into self isolation. Shortly afterwards shut borders except to returning citizens. 25th March Nationwide lockdown. 102 cases no deaths. Around the same time we locked down.6,500 cases. 330 deaths. I'm sure JDA and others can do some calculations about what that translates into cases 'in the system'. New Zealand shut down for 6 weeks and there was goodwill and a good level of compliance. Isolated location and low population density had a small benefit but the model should work globally.
geordiegirl Oct 2020 12:57am, 30 Oct 2020 12,082 posts	0 geordiegirl The_Saint we were in Oz when the sh!t hitthe fan, NSW and particularly my friend is in Central Coast. They now have zero cases. ZERO. We had 3 weeks of being in Oz in restricted times. You could go out and about but it was advised against. Non essential shops closed. We couldn’t do the trip we planned (for over 2years properly but 10yrs in reality) but we could still do things which were as we intended... bush and beach walks. What struck me is without full lockdown people did as was asked. There was NO ridiculous scenes at the supermarkets, yes they had no toilet rolls pasta rice and baking essentials but they just worked around it. People naturally gave space (no masks) they were calm and accommodating. I know Melbourne had a different experience from FunkyPom’s updates but my friend and family are living an adapted ‘normal’ life. It can be done but it relies upon the mentality of the masses not the few. Kind of wish we’d stayed out there we had a safe place to live and we’d have had a much better time than here.
Non-runner Oct 2020 6:56am, 30 Oct 2020 786 posts	0 Non-runner NZ isn’t an international travel hub or working/business destination as Heathrow and London are. Its population doesn’t leave in its millions for holiday, extended family and business travel to all corners of the globe all year round on cheap flights from local airports. It doesn’t rely so much on imports and road traffic from other countries. It has plenty of space and a generally united citizenry that trusts its government. In those terms the UK has much more in common with Belgium and the Netherlands than with NZ and Australia.
DocM Oct 2020 8:22am, 30 Oct 2020 37,790 posts	0 DocM these are good points NR. My concern for NZ is a large part of its economy is dependent on tourism, which is completely non existant for now and probably quite a long while in the future.
Non-runner Oct 2020 8:26am, 30 Oct 2020 787 posts	0 Non-runner Absolutely DocM, and if Covid becomes endemic in the world, as many scientists are now suggesting, they will have to face it sooner or later or else isolate themselves forever. That have bought themselves some time for vaccines and treatments to be developed but ultimately, if they rejoin the world, Covid will get there.
Spideog Oct 2020 8:26am, 30 Oct 2020 811 posts	0 Spideog Being thousands of miles away, not a through route to other destinations and international travel being something that takes longer than 45 minutes are what helped Australia and New Zealand. Those things meant that numbers in the community were sufficiently small at the time when restrictions came in that cases could actually be identified and isolated.
larkim Oct 2020 8:58am, 30 Oct 2020 12,454 posts	0 larkim The Australia / NZ vs UK comparison always strikes me as unfair. Even in the more populous areas population density comes nowhere near England. Population density of Sydney is 430 per km2 (potentially 1,171 for the built up urban area), London is 5,701. That alone must make a substantial difference. Plus the obvious travel limitations of being able to get there vs the European model of plenty of land transfers. They had an easier task to start with - no disrespect to them, they handled their situation well and arguably if Boris had been in charge in Aus / NZ they would have fared less well, but nonetheless comparing the UK to NZ or Australia seems like setting us up for a poor comparison. Germany for me is the better comparator of a model of how handling it "well" could have resulted in fewer deaths and cases.
jda Oct 2020 9:10am, 30 Oct 2020 8,722 posts	0 jda Not to mention Taiwan, Vietnam, China. Of course Germany is starting to struggle now. Yes it seems very likely to become endemic but better treatment and perhaps some vaccination (when it comes on stream) should make it a much more gentle process for countries that have delayed successfully so far.
HappyG(rrr) Oct 2020 9:23am, 30 Oct 2020 36,267 posts	0 HappyG(rrr) The restrictions are definitely more debilitating than the disease, for most of us, at the moment. Continuing good will and compliance for "the good of society" is a hard one to sustain. I'm in the boat that I know virtually no one who has had it, those that I do it was very mild and caused no lasting damage. But I realise that it's pretty horrendous for a few, and that hospital workers and others who support our society are the most likely to get a high load. So I'll keep doing my bit. Over by summer? Or Christmas 2021 do we think?
EvilPixie Oct 2020 9:32am, 30 Oct 2020 19,786 posts	0 EvilPixie another positive in the team the lad who was being trained by the 1st positive case Working together in a meeting room so should have been 2 meters apart but I guess a whole day together will spread it