For Americans, the COVID-19 pandemic has proved a seemingly endless nightmare. As Worldometers reported , over 5.2 million Americans have contracted the virus at the time of this writing and 165,619 have died as a result of exposure to it.
As their data shows, this comes as part of a trend that sees tens of thousands of new cases, and hundreds of deaths, per day.
Sadly, this is not an unfamiliar circumstance for others nations through the world, either. However, there are a few that can give us a sort of light at the end of the tunnel and show us what it looks like when the coronavirus is under control.
And after reaching a significant and enviable milestone, it seems that New Zealand is a clear example of such a place.
From the beginning, it was clear that the New Zealand government took the threat of COVID-19 seriously.
As the BBC reported , they imposed a lockdown in March that also included strict controls at their borders.
Effective health messaging programs as well as aggressive testing and contact tracing also helped to put the nation in an encouraging position to weather the pandemic.
As a result, New Zealand was able to open itself back up after the last coronavirus case was resolved on June 8.
As CBS News reported , schools and businesses could safely reopen and restrictions on gatherings and domestic travel were lifted.
Nonetheless, people are encouraged to keep a record of where they have been and event organizers and other businesses are being asked to do the same as a means of facilitating contact tracing.
Although 23 cases of COV-19 now exist in the nation, all of the affected people are now in monitored isolation.
As the BBC reported , the last case in which the coronavirus was transmitted in New Zealand arose on May 1, which means the nation hasn’t seen a single new case for 100 days.
Although this landmark has been cause for some celebration in New Zealand, officials are warning the public against growing complacent while the possibility of a second wave remains.
As Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said , “One hundred days is a milestone to mark but, again, we still need to be vigilant regardless.”
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Unfortunately, it’s already not unheard of for nations that appeared to beat the pandemic to suffer its effects once again.
As the BBC reported , Vietnam went 99 days without a COVID-19 case until July, when a 57-year-old man in Da Nang tested positive.
According to Reuters , that city then saw a spike with 42 cases by the end of the month.
While that may not sound like much on its own, the fact remains that it brought the nation’s total cases since the pandemic began up from 417 to 459 over the course of a weekend.
h/t: BBC
