Wellington: The New Zealand Government has undertaken preparatory work to combat new and more dangerous variants of COVID-19.
"This is about being ready to adapt our response, especially knowing that new variants will likely continue to appear," COVID-19 Response Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said in a press release on Wednesday.
“We have undertaken a piece of work to look at possible scenarios for the evolution of the pandemic. This is to ensure there is more certainty for New Zealanders for how we would respond to future variants," she added.
According to the minister, lockdowns and other strict measures will be a last resort.
"Our starting position will be more target measures aimed to protect the most vulnerable while also avoiding wider societal disruption. We already have a much stronger base of protection measures in place such as access to vaccinations and anti-viral drugs, our PCR testing capacity, contact tracing system and an integrated surveillance system," she explained.
New Zealand’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic to date has been based on strong public health advice and characterised by a willingness to adapt and learn in response to the evolving nature of the virus.
"Our ongoing surveillance for new variants, especially at the border keep us in a good position to identify future variants," she stated.
"Based on public health advice Ministers will continue to make decisions about how to respond in the event of new variants. This process is well established and has served our country well," she concluded.
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