As virus cases go from 1 to 24,000, New Zealand changes tack
ABC News
Back in August, New Zealand’s government put the entire nation on lockdown after a single community case of the coronavirus was detected
WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- Back in August, New Zealand's government put the entire nation on lockdown after a single community case of the coronavirus was detected.
On Tuesday, when new daily cases hit a record of nearly 24,000, officials told hospital workers they could help out on understaffed COVID-19 wards even if they were mildly sick themselves.
It was the latest sign of just how radically New Zealand's approach to the virus has shifted, moving from elimination to suppression and now to something approaching acceptance as the omicron variant has taken hold.
Experts say New Zealand's sometimes counterintuitive actions have likely saved thousands of lives by allowing the nation to mostly avoid earlier, more deadly variants and buying time to get people vaccinated. The nation of 5 million has reported just 65 virus deaths since the pandemic began.
