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New Zealand drops 'COVID zero' goal after Delta outbreak

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Ardern thereby confirming that she no idea what she is doing. The country has printed itself to a standstill, inflation is rising, democratic process is calmly disregarded by the labour government while the media (bailed out by the same government) keeps telling everyone the situation is all roses.

Just like her now infamous: "eliminate child poverty" promise/lie, so goes her elimination of covid 'strategy'.

4 ( +19 / -15 )

So the earlier strategy of lock it down and stamp it out is now not viable, how predictable, the COVID zero approach was never going to work, looks like she is moving towards the Singapore model..

4 ( +12 / -8 )

Now she's finally being more realistic. It's just common sense that such viruses can never be fully eliminated. Put in reasonable measures to limit spread and then open the country up.

6 ( +13 / -7 )

Yes, everyone should be adapting to changing situations

4 ( +10 / -6 )

widely praised by liberals and their media. yet.....

admitted Monday that New Zealand's widely praised "COVID zero" strategy had failed

2 ( +14 / -12 )

So that's the end of a fairy tale.

7 ( +12 / -5 )

The funny thing is that a lot of left leaning people who are normally apologists for Ardern, are now sticking the boot in.

What isn't funny, is that you have an entire island, that hasn't had a case for almost a year, still suffering with COVID restrictions. More than a few lefties I know on the South Island have now well and truly had enough of the PM.

4 ( +13 / -9 )

Good, astute call from New Zealand’s leader, albeit a month too slow.

(I was predicting such a shift in stance a month ago here, circa the end of August, while some were looking in the rear view mirror at 2020)

Elimination was important because we didn't have vaccines, now we do,

Vaccines weren’t available in New Zealand then? Not last year surely, but this past August surely vaccines were available.

A low take-up of vaccinations could be blamed, but not a lack of vaccines themselves, perhaps?

But a low take-up of vaccines could be put down to lack of proper long term strategy for dealing with Covid, which could be politically troublesome no doubt.

I hope people suffering from the heavy handed lockdowns in New Zealand will find their businesses and lives can recover soon, now the government has changed course.

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

will refugees be exempt from the vaccination requirements to enter?

CNN says yes they will.

Also, vaccinated people can also still get and transmit COVID, or has that changed?

1 ( +12 / -11 )

Also, vaccinated people can also still get and transmit COVID, or has that changed?

We have been over this multiple times. Vaccinated people hare many orders of magnitude less likely to become infected if they are exposed, therefore they are less likely to transmit the virus by virtue of being much less likely to have it in the first place.

Repeatedly bringing up already disproven hypothesis is an attempt to alter the factual reality or at least the public opinion of factual reality.

Fortunately, most people know better.

-3 ( +8 / -11 )

It's funny how so many posters here seem to be fixated on a binary reading of the NZ approach and the virus general.

Chill people. Nuance is required here. And that's the NZ strategy. A big vaccine push coupled with a lockdown. And an easing of that lockdown as vaccination rate increase. The vaccine was always part of the plan. The endgame.

-3 ( +8 / -11 )

 less likely

I didnt see any "no" in all those words. So, yes they can (and will and do) get and transmit the virus.

But it sounds good on paper, I guess, to restrict entry to only vaccinated people (with exceptions for refugees and seasonal workers, of course).

sounds good, kinda like "zero covid"- that also failed.

2 ( +10 / -8 )

Blacklabel

Also, vaccinated people can also still get and transmit COVID, or has that changed?

Only if they catch it. And as we know, they are 1/5th less likely to catch it, or has that changed?

-3 ( +8 / -11 )

It's just common sense that such viruses can never be fully eliminated.

But their spread can be contained. Did we have a massive Ebola outbreak in the US in 2014? (Hint: the answer is no.)

Trump had one chance to get it right and did the exact opposite. Now the U.S. has 700k dead. NZ has 27.

Now granted, The US is a bit larger in population. Is it 25,925 (The number of Americans who have died of Covid for every NZ fatality) times as large?

I am going to go out on a limb and say "no"......

PM did her best to protect the NZ population. Generally did a bang-up job. It was certainly worth a try. Now, like actual leaders are wont to do, she is adapting to changing circumstances using science and facts to arrive at the best possible outcome given the circumstances.

-4 ( +7 / -11 )

Right decision and shows real leadership by making swift change with a clear new strategy. The lockdown bought enough time for those who wanted to get vaccinated to do so. 79.1% have had at least one shot and the remaining 20% will probably never take it. Time to reduce restrictions and this can be done gradually so cases don't go through the roof and hospitals don't get overwhelmed.

-4 ( +5 / -9 )

So people can now drink in the park but cant go to restaurants.

Sounds like japan until last week.

When it was japan the government were all idiots when it arden it's visionary.

1 ( +9 / -8 )

Conservatives es should accept science before putting words in liberals’ mouths.

this same person claimed Donald Trump himself, clandestinely flew to New Zealand to spread corona and "has the proof" to back up the claim....

0 ( +9 / -9 )

Conservatives es should accept science before putting words in liberals’ mouths

Well, majority of the anti vax are the liberals..

https://www.blackenterprise.com/leader-of-black-lives-matter-new-york-chapter-calls-vaccine-mandates-racist-and-disrespectful/?test=prebid

1 ( +8 / -7 )

But now that Delta has changed the situation, at least PM Ardern has the flexibility to change her mind and her tactics

Nope..only changed after realizing that the lock-down approach would last for ever..better approach is to allow the virus to spread in a vaccinated population.. just like Singapore.. she just copied that approach.. nothing original in her COVID handling approach so far.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

Also, vaccinated people can also still get and transmit COVID, or has that changed?

We have been over this multiple times. Vaccinated people hare many orders of magnitude less likely to become infected if they are exposed, therefore they are less likely to transmit the virus by virtue of being much less likely to have it in the first place.

Many orders of magnitude??!!

Definitely not about 6 months after the getting the waning vaccination.

And definitely not against the Delta variant.

-3 ( +6 / -9 )

hello Jacinda its time to go.

But she led her party to a complete thrashing of the opposition not long ago and as far as I’m aware, she hasn’t nosedived in the polls to the point where she should walk.

Has there been an incontinent hysterical meltdown on the right in NZ leading to claims mass election fraud last time out?

The New Zealanders I know are made of sterner stuff than that.

-3 ( +8 / -11 )

Vaccinated people hare many orders of magnitude less likely to become infected if they are exposed

Actually one should be careful about making such claims.

Recent reports suggest that prevention of infection drops off, while reduction in the seriousness of symptoms continues.

It’s early days yet but being vaccinated doesn’t prevent one from carrying the virus. (I am waiting to get my second Pfizer shot next week currently.)

3 ( +7 / -4 )

It’s early days yet but being vaccinated doesn’t prevent one from carrying the virus. (I am waiting to get my second Pfizer shot next week currently.)

No, but it gives you one hell of a viral load.

Good luck.

-5 ( +6 / -11 )

No, but it gives you one hell of a viral load.

For people for whom the vaccine prevents infection obviously the viral titers are much lower. That can even apply for vaccinated people that get infected but never become symptomatic.

Definitely not about 6 months after the getting the waning vaccination.

For one vaccine, unless you have the data for all vaccines to prove it you can't generalize. This is the problem of having only a limited grasp on the science, people make invalid generalizations and conclusions that end up being false.

0 ( +8 / -8 )

This is the problem of having only a limited grasp on the science, people make invalid generalizations and conclusions that end up being false.

It's just simple poor reasoning ability

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

This is the problem of having only a limited grasp on the science, people make invalid generalizations and conclusions that end up being false.

It's just simple poor reasoning ability

Yes, very true, I agree with both statements. Some examples of invalid generalizations that we have seen countless times over the past year that ended up being false are:

Herd immunity is required to enable economic and social recovery.

Vaccines are the only route to achieving herd immunity.

The Covid-19 vaccines are perfectly safe.

The Covid-19 vaccines provide protective, durable immunity.

Natural immunity is short lived, narrow, and ineffective.

-5 ( +4 / -9 )

January 2020, "Don't wear masks, they are not designed to stop an airborne virus"

April 2020 "Wear your damn mask or you'll kill everyone around you!"

May, 2021, "Mix and match vaccines as u please!" August, 2021 "No, don't do that. Its dangerous and we won't count you as vaccinated"

January 2021, "The vaccine is safe, last for years and has an efficacy of 95%"

October 2021 "Don't take J&J, Astra Zeneca or Moderna. They're uhh...less than safe. And oh yeah, if you don't have your 2nd booster and 4th shot overall, you aren't technically vaccinated. And efficacy is about 50%. Maybe."

"and wear your masks anyway.."

0 ( +9 / -9 )

They have done more than anyone else dreamed of to limit the spread of COVID.

That tiny little island in the middle of the South Pacific with more sheep than people? Well, maybe. For a while. But check out the headline.

The Virus is gonna Virus..

-3 ( +7 / -10 )

While it is easy to sit behind a keyboard and judge politicians, at their positions an policy will affect death rates. Freedom always sounds better because those lives are just numbers to most of the general population.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

She added that the change -- a major shift to her previous goal of completely stamping out the virus -- was possible because vaccination rates had increased dramatically.

Is New Zealand vaccinating children ? What about the childrend with underlying conditions ? Is there any data on how children 12- respond to the delta type ?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

letsberealisticToday  06:18 pm JST

carpslidyToday  04:50 pm JST

So people can now drink in the park but cant go to restaurants.

Sounds like japan until last week.

When it was japan the government were all idiots when it arden it's visionary.

Compare the number of deaths, death rate and total COVID cases though

Shimane prefecture (660,000) has had 4 deaths so per million its lower than nz.

More than anything population density is the biggest factor

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

This is the problem of having only a limited grasp on the science, people make invalid generalizations and conclusions that end up being false.

That is part of it, but more serious is that for many, they are viewing this from a political angle, are prone to hysterics or have a pathology for conspiracy theories ( these can overlap ).

On here, I’m not the only one who knew who would be an anti-vaxxer without reading their posts. You didn’t need to be a clairvoyant to do this.

It’s the lack of self-reflection which is part of the problem, but part of the attraction of conspiracy theories is that they entice people to think they are more intelligent and perceptive than they actually are.

A brutal self-reflection could be terrifying.

0 ( +8 / -8 )

GdTokyo....and Virusex...

You are wasting your time by using logic in an argument with people who have abandoned logic. but keep up the good work.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

Yes, very true, I agree with both statements. Some examples of invalid generalizations that we have seen countless times over the past year that ended up being false are

Most of them are used on purpose as false generalizations by antivaxxers that can't do anything about the actual, real scientific facts that justify the use of vaccines. The same as your false overgeneralization about "all vaccines" they are false, except that antivaxxers use them well knowing they are false.

You are wasting your time by using logic in an argument with people who have abandoned logic.

That would be assuming that the purpose is to change the mind of people that take pride on being found lying, the actual purpose is to give a clear counterargument for people that may read the false information so they will not be mislead into thinking they are true.

2 ( +7 / -5 )

That would be assuming that the purpose is to change the mind of people that take pride on being found lying, the actual purpose is to give a clear counterargument for people that may read the false information so they will not be mislead into thinking they are true.

I have come across some who were genuinely putting forward concerns. One excellent comment I read in the past was from someone was about the risk/benefit of Covid vaccines for children using verifiable stats.

A fair discussion that can’t thrown into the delirious bin.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

What the media is NOT saying is how much damage this woman has done to NZ's economy. She has ordered money to be printed to hand out during this time of Covid with no thought on how this will be repaid. It will be the next 2 generations of our current children that will be left to pay the debt. It is common knowledge with the general public in NZ that if there was an election now she would have zero chance of getting back in.

1 ( +8 / -7 )

https://www.science.co.il/medical/coronavirus/Death-statistics.php

Round about 82 years old

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Round about 82 years old

no kidding. I’m quite shocked and horrified that there is nothing there about vaccinations at all, only that the infection affects elderly worse. Which we all knew anyway. Also it’s info from June. The graph on your link you posted earlier shows unvaccinated people between the ages of 40-60 make up the largest group of those serious hospitalizations by a long way.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

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