What was Jacinda Ardern’s “go hard and go early” COVID-19 strategy?

Jacinda Ardern’s “go hard and go early” strategy was a public health approach designed to contain the spread of COVID-19 through rapid, decisive action.12

Key components of this strategy included:

• Border Control: In mid-March 2020, New Zealand became one of the first countries to close its borders to international travelers to mitigate the global health threat.12
• Strict Lockdowns: The government imposed a nationwide lockdown when only about 100 cases had been confirmed, aiming to eliminate community transmission.12
• Science-Driven Policy: The approach relied on hard-line, science-based measures to suppress the virus, which successfully limited the total number of cases and deaths during the initial phases of the pandemic.12

While this strategy was highly effective at containing the virus, it significantly impacted the country’s tourism-dependent economy, leading to a sharp decline in GDP. Over time, as more infectious variants like Delta and Omicron emerged, the government shifted its focus from this “zero COVID” policy toward vaccination and “living with the virus”.123