Covid-19 update from New Zealand: Calm before the storm

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Here in little old New Zealand we now have 28 confirmed cases of covid-19, and no deaths at this stage. We really only started getting infections last week, and it seems that each day we are seeing more infections. The massive positive is that at the moment there havent been any community spread of covid-19, and all cases so far have been traced to international travel.

New Zealand has really ramped up measures in the last couple of weeks to try and stop covid-19 in its tracks before it gets any traction. Within the last week it was announced that all travellers coming into New Zealand must self isolate for 14 days. This is massive for a country that relies heavily on tourism. However, so far there have only been a small number of positive cases, and people in the health industry are doing their best to track down every who has been in close contact with those infected. There has also been a cal out for those New Zealanders overseas to "come home", so who knows we may even close the borders completely...

Along with this, the government has announced that gatherings of more than 500 people will be banned until further notice - this was just updated to now being 100 people. Again this is massive and will affect all sorts of businesses, and will bring the entertainment industry to a hault. At the moment schools, universities and supermarkets are still open with no restrictions. Speaking of supermarkets, people here are starting to panic buy! I went to the supermarket today and it was like Christmas - many things low or out of stock... madness!

In terms of economics, if we are not already in a recession then it wont be far away. Many, many small and medium businesses will have to cut staff in order to survive. The government has announced a 12 billion dollar package to help smaller businesses during this time, but will it be enough? Only time will tell.

Although people here are still fairly calm about it all, it is dominating world and local headlines and there is a bit of fear creeping in especially as New Zealand is now starting to see new cases each day... At the moment we are being told that the chase of widespread outbreaks remains low, and we need to practise extra care with hygiene, such as washing hands and keeping our distance from others unless needed.

I look forward to reading other peoples countries and how they are coping. Stay safe!

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