COVID-19 in New Zealand and the impact of the national response: a descriptive epidemiological study
Epidemiological study of cases of SARS-CoV-2 in New Zealand found that the graduated, risk-informed national suppression measures resulted in low relative burden of disease, low levels of population disease disparities, and the initial achievement of COVID-19 elimination.
Source:
The Lancet Public Health
SPS commentary:
A related commentary reports that control of importations and local transmission in New Zealand was achieved with stringent non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented rapidly when infection numbers were low: the Alert Level escalated from 1 to 4 in 5 days, when the number of cases had just passed 1000. It concludes that the experience of New Zealand highlights that successful non-pharmaceutical interventions rely on early decisive reactions from health authorities, performant surveillance systems, and targeted testing strategies as much as stringency.