An official independent investigation of government actions after the announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic was announced by the New Zealand authorities, writes the Evening Standard on December 5.
The investigation will help future governments prepare for pandemics, current New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, adding that the virus was the biggest threat to the country’s economy and health since World War II.
She said that Monday is the right time to start looking into the government’s actions with the highest level of independent investigation. It will look at whether New Zealand did the right thing in the first place by imposing strict quarantines and border restrictions to try to eradicate the virus entirely.
While this resulted in lower first-stage deaths from the virus than in many other countries, it came at an economic and social cost.