New Zealand can be used as an example of an effective and successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first case of the country was discovered on February 28th, but the first domestic transmission was not until almost a month later on March 25th. The government, led by female prime minister Jacinda Ardern, immediately went to level 4 – lockdown, their highest level of covid restrictions. In this alert level, a state of emergency was declared, and all schools and non essential businesses were closed, with all public gatherings banned. Across April and May, New Zealand was able to slowly lift and lessen their covid restriction levels due to a low rate of infection, reaching alert level 1 on June 8th. While there is still a restriction on entering the borders of the island nation, all businesses and schools are permitted to open. People are no longer required to wear masks but the government asks them to keep a written record of all places that they go, in order to be able to contact trace if necessary. While the people living in New Zealand were kept safe, their economy suffered, contracting 9.8% in the second quarter of 2020. The government has announced plans to spend upwards of NZ$58 million including healthcare related spending, infrastructure, and wage relief for businesses and those who lost their source of income due to the pandemic. As of October 12th, 2020, New Zealand has only had 1,871 cases total, an incredibly impressive statistic for the island nation with a population of nearly 5 million.
