‘Last one standing’: Delta variant poses threat to New Zealand’s Covid-free bubble

Can New Zealand escape the resurgences that have hit other elimination success story' countries?

Last week was a sharp reminder for Dr Siouxsie Wiles, one of New Zealand's most prominent pandemic communicators, of how close the country's recent brush with Covid was. A Sydney tourist, infected with the Delta variant of Covid-19 had visited more than a dozen busy Wellington cafes, museums and eateries over the course of a weekend. As contact tracers went to work, Wiles's own phone pinged: she was a potential contact, having stayed, like the tourist, at the Rydges Hotel.

In Wiles's case, it emerged she had checked in hours after the man had checked out. The rest of the city has also emerged unscathed so far: despite 2,600 contacts identified, no infections have been reported. But the experience brought home once again, Wiles says, what a careful tightrope New Zealand is walking.