Please note that New Zealand had the greatest immediate, proactive, and comprehensive plan to shut down the spread of the virus, and the United States government has had the least responsive reaction to the pandemic — and please note the consequences, positive and catastrophic, related to these very different actions and lack of actions taken by those in power and the citizenry of these countries.
There are many deeply important lessens here for us all to learn, and especially in the face of our increased risk of more pandemics related to our warming planet. The coronavirus crisis and the climate crisis both offer us urgent facts and vital changes which need to guide the intentions, values, and actions of us all. — Molly
New Zealand is now down to only one active COVID-19 case, reaching a new level of success in its fight against the coronavirus. The last time a new case was reported in the country was more than a week ago; no one is currently hospitalized with the disease caused by the coronavirus.
"For the seventh day in a row, there are no new cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand," the Ministry of Health said on Friday.
The news came on the same day that the country further eased its restrictions on the public. It will now permit gatherings of up to 100 people — clearing the way for weddings, parties, funerals and other large events. Restaurants can also host up to 100 people, as long as safety protocols are followed.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has repeatedly urged caution, even as she has celebrated a string of successes in combating COVID-19.
When Ardern announced last month that the country had eliminated community transmission, she said, "We have won that battle," and added, "But we must remain vigilant if we are to keep it that way."
Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/29/864917847/new-zealand-now-has-just-1-active-covid-19-case
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Cases, updated daily, of coronavirus as of May 29, 2020:
— New Zealand Confirmed 1,154 Recovered 1,131 Deaths 22
— Canada Confirmed 89,390 Recovered 47,443 Deaths 6,979
— Mexico Confirmed 81,400 Recovered 56,638 Deaths 9,044
— United States Confirmed 1.77M Recovered 381K Deaths 104K
Please note that New Zealand has the lowest number of cases, and the highest reported number of COVID-19 cases and deaths remains in the United States.
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As of May 29, 2020, these are the known cumulative number of coronavirus cases in Nordic countries:
— Sweden 36,476
— Denmark 11,593
— Norway 8,411
— Finland 6,776
— Iceland 1,805
— Faroe Islands 187
— Greenland 13
The highest number of confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the Nordic countries as of May 29, 2020 was in Sweden, where the number amounted to 36,476. Denmark followed with 11,593 cases, and Norway with 8,411 cases.
The worldwide number of confirmed cases of coronavirus was over 5.9 million as of May 29, 2020. More statistics and facts about the virus are available here.
Please go here for the original: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1102257/cumulative-coronavirus-cases-in-the-nordics/
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Please watch this program from Democracy Now! detailing why New Zealand has been the most effective country in its response to the pandemic:
New Zealand implemented one of the earliest lockdowns and has largely succeeded in eliminating the coronavirus under the leadership of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Some of the country's success has been attributed to her leadership, trust in science, and clear communication during the crisis. We get an update from Michael Baker, professor of public health at the University of Otago in Wellington, New Zealand. He is an epidemiologist and a member of the New Zealand Ministry of Health's Technical Advisory Group. Baker has been advising the government on its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their slogan is "Stay home, stay safe, and be kind."
Please go here for the original: https://www.democracynow.org/2020/5/26/new_zealand_coronavirus_response_jacinda_ardern
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Please also watch Part 2 of this Democracy Now! program from May 26th:
From this interview —
MICHAEL BAKER: Yes. Well, one of the — one of my big lessons from all of this is that we have to be looking to the future at the kind of threats that you could describe as existential threats for humanity. And with a pandemic, we have, I think, failed quite badly at a global level to anticipate something that was very well described, with very good science, that was only a short distance ahead of us. It was almost in front of us. It was just a few weeks to a month or two away. And the world has really failed, I think, to assess that risk, listen to science and act in a coordinated way. And that’s why I feel very concerned, and I really hope that we’ll learn from this, this pandemic. It’s obviously not over yet. But it will be a temporary shock. It will be a horrible shock, and it’s going to potentially cause many millions of deaths across the planet. But after, you know, maybe two or three years, it will hopefully be under control in various ways.
But what it — the big lesson for me is that the far more severe threats on the horizon are about climate change and loss of biodiversity. And while those threats are going to increase and intensify over the next few years to the next few decades, they will be far more severe for humanity than the pandemic. And that’s why I really hope that we will take the lesson from this event and apply it to these other threats. So, that means listening to scientists, strengthening our global health agencies, like World Health Organization and U.N., and really taking a coordinated global response to these events. And so that’s my huge hope from this very destructive pandemic that we’re in at the moment.
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