The 2 pacific nations had the advantage of time in taking early measures to contain the pandemic. Australian PM Scott Morrison called the situation a pandemic 2 week before WHO did.
While the US and other European countries are overwhelmed with huge number of COVID-19 cases, Australia and New Zealand have been successful in suppressing the outbreak. They have not just managed to flatten the curve but are looking towards eliminating the virus from their countries. On of Friday, New Zealand reported just 5 cases while Australia reported 14. The total number of confirmed cases as of 24th April stands at 1121 in New Zealand and 6703 in Australia.
Australia with its conservative Christian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, a darling of the left, has done nothing extraordinary. They have just enforced the norms of social distancing through strict lockdown measures. Mr. Morrison banned travellers from China from February 1 and called the outbreak a pandemic 2 weeks before the World Health Organization (WHO) did. He had formed a special cabinet comprising of federal and state leaders to take measures and guide the response. On the other hand, New Zealand which has a centralised polity, went in for a total lockdown less than a month after the first case emerged in the country. Both countries had the advantage of time as the first case in Australia was reported on January 25 while New Zealand reported its first case on February 28.
The public in both the countries resisted initially against the tough lockdown measures. However, effective communication and information flow at all levels of the government ensured that the people complied.