OPINION: The Covid-19 risk for New Zealand in 2021 waateanews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from waateanews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Dr Rawiri Taonui: The first six months of the New Year will decide the success of New Zealand’s defence against the Covid-19 Pandemic. New Zealand has the lowest case numbers, cases per capita millions, total deaths, and deaths per capita millions of all European OECD countries. New Zealand’s path through 2021 will be interwoven with runaway numbers bordering on collapse in other countries, the emergence of new more virulent and dominant strains of Covid-19 and the promise of contagion ending vaccines.
THE WORLD SITUATION
1. Numbers
The world is witnessing unprecedented Covid-19 cases and deaths. In the developing world, the upward surge is driven by poverty, inequality, and weak health infrastructure. In the West, countries with the richest economies and strongest health systems are caught between protecting public welfare and maintaining rich economies.