New Zealand Covid-19 curbs saved lives but brought social fiscal costs

A commission said the country is still grappling with the long-term consequences of both the pandemic and the policy response. Read more at straitstimes.com.

WELLINGTON – An inquiry into New Zealand’s Covid-19 response found that while the country’s strategy – one of the strictest in the world – helped limit infections and deaths, prolonged lockdowns and vaccine mandates imposed significant social and economic costs.

The Royal Commission made 24 recommendations aimed at strengthening the country’s preparedness for future pandemics, including regular assessments of fiscal resilience and clearer decision-making during crises, according to its report on March 10 in Wellington.

“The response strategy and settings weren’t always sufficiently responsive to changing circumstances; for example, they weren’t adapted early enough to deal with later variants of the virus,” the report found.

“At a time when speed was often critical, some decisions had to be made without enough information and data, or without sufficient consideration of all the impacts that might arise, or without important checks and monitoring.”

The findings cover the period from February 2021 to October 2022 and draw on public hearings, 31,000 submissions and 8,000 documents.

They follow an earlier phase of the inquiry that assessed the period through to January 2021.