They are safe and back to normal life. No more lock downs. No more social distancing. Stores, restaurants, public transportation – all fully reopened. Weddings, graduations, and birthday parties are once again being celebrated. Their leaders are now shifting their focus to economic recovery. And they achieved it with
just 1,504 cases and 22 deaths
reported nationally.
Many have applauded the announcement, including Helen Clarke, a former prime minister of New Zealand, who posted on Twitter: “Clear leadership & an engaged public have produced this result.“
New Zealand had 0.45 deaths per 100,000 people, and a 1.5% fatality among COVID-19 cases. By contrast, the US has had 35.05
deaths per 100,000 people
and a 5.6% fatality among cases. [source] And that’s just so far (6/13/20) – it will get worse, with the pandemic still raging and infections still spiking.
I have seen too many people resigned to this dismal response as unquestionable fact, saying things like ‘there’s nothing to be done’ or ‘we just have to tough it out’ or ‘America’s had the best pandemic response in the world’. One person asked me, ‘they’re doing everything they can, what more do you want?‘
This. This is what I want. Competent leadership that makes fact-based decisions and values expertise. Strong leadership that values human life over money.
Decisive leadership that acts to mitigate a crisis, not inflame it.
