Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern admitted Monday that New Zealand’s widely praised “Covid zero” strategy had failed to halt a stubborn outbreak in Auckland and said a new approach was needed.
The hardline elimination policy had largely protected the country from the pandemic, with residents enjoying a near-normal domestic life alongside tight restrictions on international borders.
But an August outbreak prompted a seven-week lockdown in its main population centre that has failed to curb infection rates.
Ardern said the highly transmissible Delta variant had proved a “game-changer” that could not be eliminated.
“Even with the long-term restrictions we’ve had, we patently haven’t reached zero,” she added.
Ardern said she would not immediately dump the elimination strategy but lockdown restrictions in Auckland would be eased slightly, even though new case numbers have not fallen.
She added that the change — a major shift to her previous goal of completely stamping out the virus — was possible because vaccination rates had increased dramatically.
“Elimination was important because we didn’t have vaccines, now we do, so we can begin to change the way we do things,” she told reporters.
