In New Zealand it has been easy to forget Covid. Now we are too complacent – The Guardian

My Kiwi friends ask, somewhat jokingly, how Im finding my first New Zealand level 4. I answer, also somewhat jokingly, that Im a veteran at this, having lived in London and Dublin for most of the pandemic, and had gone through several hard lockdowns.

Thats why it was unfortunate, the day before New Zealand went into one, it felt like Groundhog Day to me.

Supermarket carparks filled and queues snaked out of their entrances. By the end of the night, the same products that ran out at the beginning of the first lockdown were emptied out once again: bread, toilet paper, flour. The government had moved quickly, carrying out a plan developed for a Delta outbreak, but the population did not appear to have the same sense of danger: the shoppers and staff were, for the most part, unmasked.

I had witnessed the same in London, where I was living at the beginning of the pandemic. Back then, we still regarded it as being something that would pass soon enough. We laughed at people stocking up on masks; I turned down a family friends offer to siphon off some supply the Chinese embassy had given her. As we waited for the UK government to announce a lockdown, we continued going out, calling it a last hurrah.

In those days, we were lucky the coronavirus was still in its initial, far less infectious state. We didnt hear much about people we knew getting the virus; these days, everyone in London knows at least one person whos gotten Delta. Over in Australia, weve seen the quagmires New South Wales and Victoria have found themselves in.

We know more now. There is something to be said for Kiwi chillness, but this behaviour seemed downright foolish.

The first day of the lockdown, my mum went out for a grocery shop at a Countdown and she saw no staff wearing masks; in pictures she took for me, one worker had a mask over their chin, another didnt have one on at all. On a local community Facebook group, members announced other supermarkets where staff werent wearing them either. It should be said that this was all legal, as the mask mandate for indoor spaces didnt go into effect until the next day, but the number of maskless people says something.

Perhaps this is a result of how successful the country has been at sealing itself from the ravages of Covid-19: it had gone almost six months without an active community case; there had not been any nationwide lockdowns for almost a year and a half.

When I was overseas, I felt like Kiwis were living in an alternative reality, though really, life continued unabated.

When I returned and came out of managed isolation in May, I went to a cafe for lunch and sat outside. I only had to step a few paces inside to pay, but I felt like my face was unduly exposed. That feeling was easily shaken off; it was easy to forget the virus existed if I didnt look at anything that spoke about the rest of the world. I can see how New Zealands residents have been lulled into this false sense of security.

This complacency has manifested in many ways: only 10% of the population were constantly checking in with the Covid tracing app; masks, which were mandated only on public transport until this lockdown, were not being worn. At least vaccination bookings have skyrocketed these past few days. Those, like some of my parents friends, who were putting them off for whatever reason have realised this is no safe haven.

Though the risk of catching the coronavirus in this country has been small, it was inevitable that Delta or another variant further down the Greek alphabet would eventually breach the bubble. I felt we lacked the constant vigilance required for an elimination strategy. Kiwis, like our namesake bird, have been living without the threats of predators that roam beyond our shores. On Friday, more cases were identified elsewhere in the country. The only way well get through this, and future outbreaks, is if we are ready from the outset.

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In New Zealand it has been easy to forget Covid. Now we are too complacent - The Guardian