New Zealand leader defends “zero Govt” strategy amid delta variation infection questions

Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacintha Artern, Defended this Thursday Its strategy is to eliminate the virus en masse in the face of the fear of this “govt zero” principle Infectious delta would be ineffective against variation.

The case of this strain that appeared in Auckland last week ended six months without local infections in New Zealand and has caused the country’s biggest outbreak since the outbreak began. 277 with infections.

Despite the high prevalence of this variant, Artern assured that New Zealand health experts recommend following a strategy to completely eradicate the virus from the island nation, as they did months ago.

“In his opinion, this is not only possible, it is the best strategy and I totally agree.”The New Zealand president said on Thursday after announcing 68 new local cases.

His Australian counterpart Scott Morrison, Whose country follows the Govt zero strategy and now faces a strong eruption due to delta variation, said this week that it was “absurd” to try to eliminate this contagious strain.

“New Zealand can’t do that,” he said.

Artern acknowledged that the delta variation had led to changes in strategy. Previous implementation of National Lockdown More widespread screening, but maintains its goal of removing the virus from the country.

According to him, alternatives could be explored when the vaccine rate increases, currently 20% of the population.

“No one wants to be permanently blocked, it’s not our intention (…) but for now, when we get vaccinated, our goal is to eliminate the virus (virus),” he said.