INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITRY ISLAMABAD

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ABSTRACT
The present study provides an overview of the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak
which has rapidly extended globally within a short period. COVID-19 is a highly infectious
respiratory disease caused by a new corona virus known as SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute
respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2). SARS-CoV-2 is different from usual corona viruses
responsible for mild sickness such as common cold among human beings. The paper
investigates the responses of the New Zealand and Pakistan to the crisis in detail. It discusses
how the two countries took measures to fight the pandemic.
 INTRODUCTION

Problem Statement

The research deals with the covid 19 pandemic in New Zealand and Pakistan. It investigates the
approach of both countries towards the crisis.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the research paper is to examine the Covid-19 pandemic in detail. The
paper examines the strategies adopted by the New Zealand and Pakistan to handle the situation.

Objectives of the Study

1. To analyze the covid-19 crisis in detail.

2. To evaluate the strategies of New Zealand and Pakistan in response to the pandemic

Research Design

The research is dynamic and on-going in nature and is derived through a case study.

Methodology

This is a case study on the corona virus crisis. The research is done by collecting the
information from bona fide sources through the study of multiple books, newspapers, research
papers, journals and interviews of the concerned officials from the both countries.
 Covid-19 Pandemic in New Zealand

The COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand is part of the ongoing pandemic of corona virus

disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-
CoV-2). The first case of the disease in New Zealand was reported on 28 February 2020. As of
15 April 2021, the country has had a total of 2,591 cases (2,235 confirmed and 356 probable).
26 people have died from the virus, with cases recorded in all twenty district health
board (DHB) areas. The pandemic peaked in early April 2020, with 89 new cases recorded per
day and 929 active cases.

All borders and entry ports of New Zealand were closed to non-residents on 19 March 2020,
with returning citizens and residents being required to self-isolate. Since 10 April, all New
Zealanders returning from overseas must go into two weeks of managed isolation.

A four-level alert level system was introduced on 21 March to manage the outbreak within New
Zealand. The alert level was initially set at level 2, but was subsequently raised to level 3 on the
afternoon of 23 March. Beginning on 25 March, the alert level was moved to level 4, putting the
country into a nationwide lockdown. The alert level was lowered to level 3 on 27 April,
partially lifting some lockdown restrictions, and down to level 2 on 13 May, lifting the rest of
the lockdown restrictions while maintaining physical distancing and gathering size limits. The
country moved down to level 1 on 8 June, removing all remaining restrictions except border
controls.

Responses to the Pandemic

The New Zealand Government responded to the global COVID-19 pandemic by establishing a

National Health Coordination Centre (NHCC). In early February 2020, the Government barred
entry to most travellers from China in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic that
originated Wuhan.[64] In addition, the Government sponsored several repatriation flights for
returning citizens, residents, and their family members, beginning with Wuhan in February
2020.

In response to rising cases from overseas travel and within the community, Prime
Minister Jacinda Ardern closed the country's borders to non-citizens and non-residents on 19
March 2020. On 21 March, the Government introduced a four-tier alert level system, which
placed much of the country's population and economy into lockdown from 25 March. Due to the
success of the Government's elimination strategy in reducing the spread of COVID-19,
lockdown restrictions on mobility, social gatherings and economic activities were progressively
lifted on 28 April, 11 May, 25 May, and 8 June. The lifting of Alert Level 1 restrictions on 8
June eliminated social distancing and lockdown restrictions but retained border restrictions. On
13 May, the Government passed the controversial COVID-19 Public Health Response Act
2020 which empowered law enforcement to enter homes and other premises without a warrant
in order to enforce lockdown restrictions.

On 11 August, the Government reinstated lockdown restrictions following a second outbreak of

community transmissions in Auckland. Due to the reduction in community transmissions,
lockdown restrictions in Auckland and the rest of New Zealand were progressively eliminated
on 30 August, 23 September, and 7 October 2020. In early November, the Government required
travelers entering New Zealand to book a place in managed isolation prior to traveling to the
country. In mid-December 2020, the Government announced plans to establish travel bubbles
with the Cook Islands and Australia in 2021.

In early January 2021, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced that travellers

from the United Kingdom and the United States would be required to take pre-departure tests
prior to entering New Zealand from 15 January. On 11 January, the Government extended the
pre-departure test requirement to most international travelers with the exception of those from
Australia, Antarctica, and some Pacific Island states.

Following a community outbreak in South Auckland's Papatoetoe suburb on 14 February, the

Government placed an Alert Level 3 lockdown on Auckland and an Alert Level 2 lockdown
over the rest of the country until 17 February. On 17 February, Auckland's lockdown was
lowered to Alert Level 2 while the rest of the country reverted to Alert Level 1. On 22 February,
the Government announced that Auckland would revert to Alert Level 1 on 22 February.
 Following new community cases that were connected to the Auckland February cluster, the
[83]

Government placed an Alert Level 3 lockdown on Auckland and an Alert Level 2 lockdown
over the rest of the country commencing 28 February 2021 for the next seven days.

On 1 April, the Government confirmed that it would loosen rules around securing emergency
spots in managed isolation. This policy shift affects New Zealand citizens and residents visiting
terminally ill relatives or who had traveled overseas to visit terminally ill relatives; citizens and
residents of Pacific Islands countries requiring time-critical medical treatment in New Zealand
that they can't receive at home; and those facing risks to their health and safety overseas. That
same month, the Government announced that a travel bubble with Australia would come into
effect on 19 April 2021. In addition, a temporary ban on travel on India will come into force
between 11 and 28 April in response to a high proportion of border cases originating from
travelers from India.

Genome Sequencing

After there was a further outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Auckland early in August 2020, Marc
Daalder writing for Newsroom noted that genome sequencing was a "new tool" in the
Government's strategy to manage the pandemic. This was confirmed in the article by Ashley
Bloomfield when he said "we are also doing genome sequencing on all those who have tested
positive and our recent cases and current cases in managed isolation and quarantine" David
Welch a senior lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at the University of
Auckland said, compared to the first outbreak when only 25 people out of approximately 1000
were sequenced , "mapping the genetic sequences of the virus from confirmed Covid-19 cases
in a bid to track its spread – is now an integral part of New Zealand’s corona virus response. It
is providing greater certainty in identifying clusters and helps focus the investigations of contact
tracers.

Health Sector Responses

On 19 March, the medical recruitment company MedWorld appealed for retired and part-time
doctors to assist efforts by the health sector and Government to combat the spread of COVID-
19. On 10 June, St John New Zealand, which provides ambulance and first aid services,
announced that it would be lying off staff due to a $30 million deficit caused by the COVID-19
pandemic. The organization had also tried to apply for the Government's wage subsidy scheme
but was told that it was not eligible for it despite a 40% drop in income. On 27 August, Pasifika
GP Network member Dr Api Talemaitoga announced that the Government's Testing Strategy
Group would seek to ensure that members of the Māori and Pasifika communities would have
fair access to testing. These measures include offering free testing, mobile testing centers and
clinicians who could translate. Health authorities have also sought to reassure members of these
communities that they would not lose their jobs due to contracting COVID-19.
International Responses

On 8 September 2020, the Secretary-General of the World Health Organization Dr Tedros

Adhanom praised New Zealand's response to the COVID-19 pandemic alongside several other
countries including Cambodia, Japan, South Korea, Rwanda, Senegal, Spain, and Vietnam.

On 28 October, Hoover Institution senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson criticized Prime Minister

Ardern's requirement that people undergoing managed isolation quarantine be tested as a
condition for leaving on Fox News's The Ingraham Angle while the show's host Laura
Ingraham likened MIQ facilities to corona virus "quarantine camps". Hanson and Laura
Ingraham drew coverage from New Zealand media commentators including The Spinoff's Alex
Braee, who compared their remarks to former United Kingdom Independence
Party politician Suzanne Evans' remarks likening New Zealand's lockdown policies to Nazi
Germany. Newshub's Jamie Ensor responded that Ingraham's comments lacked context,
explaining that the camps were actually lavish hotels and motels.

Covid-19 Pandemic in Pakistan

The COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan is part of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease

2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
The virus was confirmed to have reached Pakistan on 26 February 2020, when two cases were
recorded (a student in Karachi who had just returned from Iran and another person in
the Islamabad Capital Territory). On 18 March 2020, cases had been registered in all four
provinces, the two autonomous territories, and Islamabad Capital Territory, and by 17 June,
each district in Pakistan had recorded at least one confirmed case of COVID-19.

Pakistan currently has the 2nd-highest number of confirmed cases in South Asia (after India);

the 9th-highest number of confirmed cases in Asia; and the 31st highest number of confirmed
cases in the world. On 15 June, daily new confirmed case numbers reached their peak,
with 6,825 new cases recorded, but since then, new daily cases and the percentage of people
testing positive have trended downwards. In late June, the number of active cases in Pakistan
stabilized, and beginning in July, started showing a significant decrease.[4] On 2 July, recoveries
exceeded active cases for the first time as 8,929 recoveries were recorded, meaning that 51% of
all confirmed cases in the country to date had recovered. While Pakistan has the world's 31st
highest case count, it only has the world's 29th highest death count.

The province of Sindh has recorded the most cases at about 134,000, and has also recorded the
most deaths due to COVID-19, about 2,500 to date. The country was put under a nation-wide
lockdown from April 1 and extended twice until 9 May. Upon its end, the lockdown was eased
in phases.

Responses to the Pandemic

The national carrier, PIA decided to suspend the flight operation between Pakistan and China
till 30 January due to the outbreak. After confirmed reports of hundreds of cases in neighboring
China, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) introduced screening measures at four
major airports: Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar for every passenger arriving from
China. Screening was also started for domestic travelers at Karachi's airport on 21 March.

On 13 March, President Dr. Arif Alvi in a special tweet advised the public to avoid participation
in mass gatherings, handshaking or hugging in addition to taking other precautionary measures
if they observe symptoms of flu or corona virus infection. Pakistan also stopped all international
flights, except those at Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore airports on the day.

It was also decided on 13 March at the National Security Council meeting with Prime

Minister Imran Khan that all schools and universities would be closed until 5 April. However,
the faculty and staff will go to work as usual. The lectures and classes will be held online in
some institutions i.e., Riphah International University, FAST NUCES University, Institute of
Space Technology. The Pakistan Day Parade, scheduled to be held on 23 March was also
cancelled along with all public event and proceedings of the Senate were postponed for two
weeks on the day.

Pakistan closed its borders to travelers from Afghanistan at the Chaman border from 2 until 21

March. The border was only partially reopened later after 21 March for transportation of food
items while pedestrian movement remained suspended. The Durand Line border was sealed
from 16 March for at least two weeks. The same time period also applied to the land border
with Iran after reopening it on 7 March from a previous closure. All land borders, including
the China-Pakistan border with China were shut from 16 March.

The health ministry announced that 14 metric tonnes of PPE, "including face masks,

thermometers, gloves [and] gowns", had been dispatched to Pakistan on 22 March.The federal
government offered financial assistance to Sindh by allotting the province $10 million from the
non-development funds of the World Bank the same day. Imran Ismail, the Governor of Sindh
stated that the federal government was taking "vigorous measures" to control the outbreak and
that rations will be provided to the families of patients.

On 24 March, the Prime Minister approved a Rs 1.2 trillion economic relief package. Of this, a
total of Rs 150 billion was allotted for low-income groups, particularly laborers while
280 billion rupees ($1.76 billion) was assigned for wheat procurement. Loan interest payments
for exporters were deferred temporarily, while a package of 100 billion rupees ($63 million)
was provided to support small industries and the agriculture sector. There was also a significant
reduction in petroleum prices and the public couples pay electricity and gas bills below a certain
amount in installments.[192][193] Under the package the monthly stipend of the Benazir Income
Support Programmme (BISP) was increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000. It was decided that the
funds of the government's Ehsaas programme would be distributed among the poor according to
the available data of the BISP and through the under progress National Socio-Economic
Registry (NSER) of the BISP. The total number of BISP beneficiaries was 5.2 million but the
number was increased under the package. The relief package also included a special package for
healthcare professionals. According to which, if a doctor or a paramedic died while treating
corona virus patients, they would be considered martyrs and their families would receive the
package that is given to martyrs.
 CONCLUSION

The covid 19 pandemic has severely affected the people around the globe. The economy of
almost all the nations dropped to fragile statistics. The healthcare infrastructure failed to support
the massive flood of the patients. The New Zealand is among the few nations who fought
against the novel virus and out casted it in a very short time. The Pakistan is also adopting
strategies to handle the deadly pandemic.