Opinion: The indigenous custom behind New Zealand’s strong covid-19 response

Date of Publication: March 11

Year of Publication: 2021

Publication City: Washington, DC

Publisher: The Washington Post

Author(s): Matthew Milner , Richard Ngata

Matthew Milner grew up in New Zealand, and is now pursuing his M.B.A. and M.A. in Education at Stanford University. Richard Ngata, of Māori descent, is a pediatric registrar/resident at Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland.

Life in New Zealand is almost back to normal. While the United States has seen more than half a million deaths from covid-19 — with a death rate of more than 160 per 100,000 of population — New Zealand has lost only 26 people at a rate of 0.53 per 100,000.

Two months ago, one of us, Richard, went to a New Year’s festival with more than 12,000 fellow revelers — something barely imaginable in the United States, where most concerts are online-only. Meanwhile, teachers, including Matthew’s parents, have been instructing in person since May without requiring masks or social distancing measures.

Read the full article here.

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