A report from Science Times on May said that some experts believe the pandemic is likely to last two years until two-thirds of the world population has become immune.
Experts predicted that the second wave of coronavirus infections would happen in fall and winter. They advised people to prepare for the worst-case scenario as the pandemic seems not to go away anytime soon.
Still, the world cannot be close forever; and as it opens once again, precautions are needed to ensure that the virus will not spread further. In Australia, after seemingly controlling the outbreak, its daily cases have been building up over the last week. The country has recorded 81 new cases on Monday, less than three weeks after just recording two cases earlier in June.
Majority of these cases are from the southern state of Victoria, which responded by implementing its second period of lockdown and closing its borders to prevent spreading the virus.
New Zealand PM's Goal at the Possible Second Wave of the Pandemic
In Wednesday afternoon at a press conference, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardren told media that the goal now is "to preserve those freedoms" that its citizens enjoy at alert level 1. That means social, and business restrictions will be lifted, but tight border controls will still remain.
Furthermore, Ardren said that although there are no new cases of coronavirus recorded in the past two consecutive days, what happened to Victoria is a reminder that it could also happen to New Zealand; therefore, there is no room for being complacent in these times.
"While we have low cases and days with zero, Victoria too was in a position of low cases and days with zero just three weeks ago," Ardren says.
In the past 24 hours, Australia has had 64 new cases and have moved to lock down on July 1 across 36 suburbs and has closed its suburbs. "It is an example of how easily the virus can take hold again and why vigilance is so important," she added.
Moreover, she also said that it is a good reminder that New Zealand is a haven in a dangerous world. However, the country is not immune to what the whole world is experiencing right now, and everyone will continue to fight this global pandemic for some time to come.
Read Also : Coronavirus Will Persist Until 70% of the World's Population is Infected, an Expert Predicts
Australia's Coronavirus Cases Resurgence Needs to Change Tactics
Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield also said on Wednesday that even countries with "strong protocols" in place to prevent the further spike of coronavirus cases were still at risk.
He said that the number of COVID-19 cases worldwide continues to rise, and other countries continue to experience a resurgence. What happened to Victoria, with the imposition of local lockdowns mean that even countries such as Australia may need to change tactics, sometimes really quickly.
"We have worked very closely with Australia and will continue to do so. We will watch the latest developments closely to see how this approach and the measures they are putting in place, such as localized lockdowns, play out," Bloomfield said.
He calls for the unity of the people to be on guard and vigilant not just as individuals but also as a community, and as a country.
