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What keeps an island community COVID ‐19 free in a global pandemic?
Author(s) -
Oliver Pam,
Lindsay Neil,
Kearns Robin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
new zealand geographer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.335
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1745-7939
pISSN - 0028-8144
DOI - 10.1111/nzg.12312
Subject(s) - pandemic , covid-19 , geography , luck , medicine , virology , philosophy , theology , disease , pathology , outbreak , infectious disease (medical specialty)
The COVID pandemic has offered opportunities for islands and other relatively isolated communities to establish pandemic‐protection boundaries. A July 2020 survey of Waiheke Island residents sought views on how the island had remained COVID‐19 free, despite proximity to a city of 1.6 million (Auckland, NZ). Many attributed that status to ‘pure luck’ or a ‘moat’ effect. However, many also attributed freedom from COVID‐19 to reinforcing high‐level community cohesiveness and shared values. The Waiheke community's response can be seen as a microcosm of New Zealand as an island nation and an exemplar of a response to pandemic threats uniquely possible for small islands.