I was looking at my previous blog post on Beekeeping in NZ1 and realised that the government’s response to covid turned out to be very similar to its response to AFB in beekeeping.
In both cases, the government set the lofty goal of eradication of a disease (and has successfully achieved it twice so far in the case of covid). In both cases, the government has imposed strict border controls to take advantage of the island geography. Most important, in both cases, the government has been supportive of its people: communications have been succinct, consistent, calm, science-informed, and educational; legislation has been sensible and involves minimal paperwork; the government stance is to help people affected by the disease rather than punishing or shaming them.2
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Footnotes:
Beekeeping update: I passed the AFB recognition test. Lost my first hive to varroa in the autumn. Have gotten another hive this spring - hopefully it fares better. ↩
Unsurprisingly, the people affected by the disease have been subjected to nasty treatment by members of the public who are fearful and lash out. But at least the government has been supportive. ↩