14. Regional Patterns of the Pandemic: A View from Aotearoa New Zealand

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have unprecedented impacts on people and places globally, challenging the ability of both government and citizens to respond. The use of Nonpharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) has been widespread in attempting to curtail the spread of COVID-19. However, there were important distinctions in how governments chose to use the public health tools at their disposal. We focus on the experience of Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), a jurisdiction that has been featured as arguably one of the most successful and stringent in attempts to eliminate COVID-19 from the population. We also explore and examine the social and spatial patterns that exist and have widened within NZ as the pandemic has unfolded, exposing the underlying social structures and fractures that now exist and persist in many countries. Initially, a geographic approach was absent, but as the pandemic progressed, this became a key aspect of the public health response. This chapter explores a range of data sources from the ongoing pandemic in NZ. We conclude by discussing an emerging syndemic, concluding the chapter with policy implications and potential future research directions.