“Go Hard, Go Early”: Preliminary Lessons From New Zealand’s Response to COVID-19

• Author: Thomas Jamieson
• DOI: 10.1177/0275074020941721
• Published date: 01 August 2020
• Date: 01 August 2020
• Subject Matter: The Case For & Against BureaucracyLeading By Example: Bureaucratic Success Stories in the Fight Against COVID-19

https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074020941721

American Review of Public Administration

2020, Vol. 50(6-7) 598 –605

© The Author(s) 2020

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DOI: 10.1177/0275074020941721

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Leading By Example: Bureaucratic Success Stories in the Fight Against COVID-19

We must go hard, and go early, and do everything we can to

protect New Zealanders’ health.

—Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, March 14, 2020 (Ardern, 2020)

Although the full impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

pandemic is yet to be realized, it has already caused over

400,000 deaths, infected millions of people, and affected

the lives of people around the world (Dong et al., 2020).

Unsurprisingly, leaders and public officials have struggled to

respond to the threat of the virus and weigh the costs and

benefits of policies that could save lives but also lead to

surging unemployment, economic depression, and sustained

disruption to local, national, and global economies.

From the start, Jacinda Ardern prioritized public health,

seeking to deliver on her pledge to protect all New Zealanders

from the effects of COVID-19 (Vowles, 2020). While the

virus’ final implications are yet to be determined, New

Zealand appears to have suffered comparatively less than

other countries. By June 11, it had been 3 weeks since the last

new case and there were no active cases remaining in the

country (New Zealand Ministry of Health, 2020).

While New Zealand enjoys some advantages, such as

geographical isolation, a civil political environment, strong

central government, recent experience with crises and disas-

ters, and a small population, several preliminary lessons

emerge from the country’s response to the crisis that could be

adapted in other settings. In particular, the government acted

early and decisively, developed national unity to combat the

virus, communicated effectively with the public, and adapted

changing circumstances, especially to address shortcomings

in the response. In short, other states could replicate New

Zealand’s approach to reduce the threat of COVID-19 and

future pandemics.

This article provides a brief overview of the New Zealand

government’s response to COVID-19 before discussing spe-

cific aspects of their response that can be adopted elsewhere

in accordance with best practices from emergency manage-

ment research. These preliminary lessons provide some

guidance in how to effectively respond to the virus through

proactive, evidence-based, well-communicated policies.

New Zealand’s Response to COVID-19

The New Zealand response to COVID-19 is led by Jacinda

Ardern, her Cabinet, and their Ministries; the Director-

General of Health Ashley Bloomfield; Director of Civil

Defence and Emergency Management Sarah Stuart-Black;

Chief Science Advisor Juliet Gerrard; Police Commissioner

Mike Bush; and businessman Rob Fyfe, among others

941721ARPXXX10.1177/0275074020941721The American Review of Public AdministrationJamieson

research-article2020

1University of Nebraska Omaha, USA

Corresponding Author:

Thomas Jamieson, School of Public Administration, University of

Nebraska Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182, USA.

Email: tjamieson@unomaha.edu

“Go Hard, Go Early”: Preliminary

Lessons From New Zealand’s Response

to COVID-19

Thomas Jamieson1

Abstract

Although the full impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is yet to be realized, New Zealand has suffered

comparatively less than other countries, and there were no active cases in the country by June 8, 2020. Building from best

practices in emergency management research, several preliminary lessons emerge from the country’s response to the crisis

that could be adapted for other settings. In particular, the government acted early and decisively, developed national unity

to combat the virus, communicated effectively with the public, and adapted to changing circumstances, especially to address

shortcomings in the response. These preliminary lessons provide some guidance in how to effectively respond to the virus

through proactive, evidence-based, well-communicated policies.

Keywords

COVID-19, emergency management, public health, leadership, communication