What If the UK Had Shut as Quickly as NZ?

“The UK’s physical isolation sets it apart from its continental neighbours, but could its island status have protected it from the full horror of Covid-19, had it closed borders in early 2020, as New Zealand and Taiwan did?” Linda Gebbes asks in a story for The Guardian.

“Both have been applauded for their efficient handling of the pandemic, with just 33 Covid-19 deaths between them. Other island nations such as Tonga, in the South Pacific Ocean, have reported no infections,” Geddes writes.

“‘To be an island in 2020 or 2021 is probably the greatest geographical gift you could have,’ said Prof Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh.

“From the UK’s shores, New Zealand’s current situation looks idyllic.” Geddes writes: “Would the UK now be in a similar position, had it acted earlier?”

Original article by Linda Geddes, The Guardian, February 5, 2021.