A CONCERNING video has laid out the differences between the UK and New Zealand governments’ responses to the coronavirus crisis.
New Zealand, which has a slightly smaller population than Scotland with 4.9 million people living in the country, has received global praise for its response to the pandemic. The nation implemented a strict tracking policy and all those entering the country had to be quarantined for a fortnight upon arrival.
The UK has about 195,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and, according to the ONS, more than 30,000 deaths, while New Zealand has just 1488 and 21 deaths.
The short video puts Jacinda Ardern and Boris Johnson’s pandemic responses side by side to show just how different they were.
READ MORE: Jacinda Ardern slams herd immunity as New Zealand returns to work
Initially it shows Ardern insisting her country “never ever” even considered herd immunity as a strategy – followed by Sir Patrick Vallance said it’s not “desirable” to stop everyone getting the virus.
Ardern is then shown saying herd immunity would have resulted in 10s of thousands of New Zealanders dying, followed by a clip of the Prime Minister talking about a theory of allowing the UK to “take it on the chin”.
The difference is shocking.#Covid19UK #BorisResign #JacindaArdern pic.twitter.com/WIjGfOjrDm
— Momentum (@PeoplesMomentum) May 6, 2020
The New Zealand PM is shown at an earlier stage in the pandemic saying: “We currently have 102 cases but so did Italy once.”
A UK minister is then shown saying: “We’re not doing the things that you know sometimes perhaps are happening elsewhere just because it seems like a popularist thing to do.”
Ardern is also shown stressing the importance of acting quickly to slow the spread of Covid-19, before a clip of Johnson shows him saying: “Things like closing schools, and stopping big gatherings, don’t work as well perhaps as people think.”
Ardern has been highly critical of the herd immunity theory, which the UK Government denies ever making a key part of its strategy.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel