[D66] New Zealand goes from zero COVID to world-leading infections and deaths

[René Oudeweg]

wsws.org <https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/08/01/ocwj-a01.html>


  New Zealand goes from zero COVID to world-leading infections and
  deaths: Workers must fight for an elimination strategy

10-13 minutes
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The disastrous situation in New Zealand reinforces the urgent need for
working people to take up the fight for a global strategy to eliminate
COVID-19. We urge readers to share this statement and to contact the
Socialist Equality Group to discuss the practical steps and the
socialist perspective required to save lives and end the pandemic.

Medical staff test shoppers who volunteered at a pop-up community
COVID-19 testing station at a supermarket carpark in Christchurch, New
Zealand. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Over the past six months, since the start of the school year in
February, New Zealand has gone from having one of the lowest COVID-19
infection rates, to now being one of the most dangerous countries in the
world. Total deaths within 28 days of a coronavirus infection have
sky-rocketed from about 60 at the end of January to more than 2,000 by
the end of July.

According to the Worldometers website, New Zealand recorded 36
COVID-related deaths per million people in the seven days ending July
29—the highest death rate of any country.

This horrific toll is the outcome of deliberate policy decisions by the
Labour Party-led government, which includes the Green Party. For most of
the pandemic, NZ remained largely free from the coronavirus, thanks to a
relatively strict nationwide lockdown imposed from March 26 to May 14,
2020, which reduced cases to zero, as well as further lockdowns in
Auckland and the imposition of border quarantine measures.

[...]

horrific?
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