January 2020, I returned to Auckland, New Zealand from a US trip where I spent the holidays with family. My sister’s family was in the US, and my mom and I decided to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s with them. I’m a Doctoral student at the University of Auckland, and I needed that US trip to recharge before writing my thesis.

My friends and I had started to hear about this highly contagious disease, but I wasn’t too worried. Like most people, I never imagined that 2020 would be the year of the pandemic.

New Zealand did have a different policy response than most countries. On March 25, the whole nation went into lockdown, which we refer to here as Alert Level 4. We were asked to stay at home in our bubbles. I was sharing a flat with a fellow Filipina student, and as challenging as it was to have restrictions, I honestly think that the experience wasn’t too stressful. We could still go out for walks as long as we didn’t mingle with other people. Except for a brief period of panic buying, the supermarkets had stocks of food and necessities.

By May 13, we were on Alert Level 2, and on June 8, with no active cases of COVID-19, New Zealand moved to Alert Level 1. By this time, there were no restrictions anymore. In August, however, there were new community transmissions reported in Auckland, and we had to go through Level 3 again, but by October 7, we were back on Level 1.

So, how does it feel to be in the “sort of old” normal? Firstly, I have to clarify that we still have to follow health protocols here. We have the COVID-19 tracer apps on our phones, and we need to scan every time we visit a place. The app will alert you when a place you’ve visited records a visit from a COVID-positive person. We need to wear face masks while on public transportation, and anyone who’s sick or with flu-like symptoms is advised to stay at home.

Aside from those, we could do practically everything that we were doing pre-COVID days. Most people don’t wear masks except while on public transportation. We had Christmas and New Year’s parties, concerts, plays, and performances. The shops were full, especially before Christmas and on Boxing Day.

Some were saying that New Zealand was able to eliminate community transmission of the virus because it is a small country with a population of only 5 million. However, I believe that its science-based pandemic response is the main reason for its success. As a foreigner living here, I benefited from these policies. Of course, it also helped that the nation supported these policies and most people followed the rules which were put in place to protect the community.

If governments want to learn from New Zealand’s experience, they have to consider what New Zealand did right and not just dismiss it as an isolated case because of its distance and population. For instance, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has always emphasized the need to “listen to the experts.” Pandemic response policies need to be based on science and not public opinion. The government’s clear communication is also to be emulated: straightforward, clear, simple — no need for politicians to be giving lengthy speeches. Here in New Zealand, the Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield talked in most media briefings in 2020.

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I’m not saying that New Zealand’s way is perfect or that its pandemic response is the best. That is for the experts to evaluate. However, I do believe that governments should be doing more to protect their citizens. This quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson says it all: “The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness. Government exists for the interests of the governed, not for the governors.” – Rappler.com

Gay Marie Manalo Francisco is a Doctoral Candidate in Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland.