New Zealand officially abandons COVID elimination

Tuesday, 5 October 2021

Auckland has been in a lockdown since 18 August. Last week, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stated that the government was still aiming to eliminate the virus.

However, after ongoing double-digit new cases (see above chart), Ardern officially abandoned her elimination strategy, easing restrictions in locked-down Auckland.

NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the Delta variant felt like “a tentacle that has been incredibly hard to shake”:

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.