How New Zealand snookered itself by calling time on its Covid elimination strategy | Lew Stoddart
By granting freedom as case numbers rise, Jacinda Ardern has diverged from the nation’s understood strategy of aligning policy with expert consensus
The New Zealand government called time on its world-leading Covid-19 elimination strategy on Monday, announcing a suite of measures that grant Aucklanders greater freedom after seven weeks of community transmission, despite experts urging tighter restrictions. In doing so, the government has snookered itself in three mutually-reinforcing ways: on social license, on enforcement, and on the economy.
New Zealand’s strategy depends on social license, and people feeling like they understand and are part of the system, and can contribute to its success, knowing others will be prevented from undermining their efforts.
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