Stores in New Zealand. (Image via Guardian)

New Zealand’s Economic Crash

Covid-19 pandemic has affected not only public health in every country but also the global economy. New Zealand is one of the countries that is overwhelmed by the economic downturn that stems from the spread of Coronavirus. Travel restrictions and lockdown that were put into enacted from April to June had taken a toll on the country’s economy.

It is reported that New Zealand is facing the worst recession since 1987 and the global financial crisis. The country, however, hopes that its response in tackling the pandemic could fix things up, including the economy.

State NZ Spokesman, Paul Pascoe mentioned several industries affected by the covid-19 pandemic in New Zealand. These sectors include retail, accommodation, and restaurants as well as transport. These industries are directly affected by the follow-up measures to combat covid-19. Nationwide lockdown that was strictly carried out, coupled with travel bans and other covid-19-related restrictions foster the major decline of those industries.

Steeper decline is tangible in New Zealand’s economy. Household domestic spending decreased by 12%. Construction was also hit by a major drop at 13%.

However, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern claimed that the GDP numbers were better than what they expected. This is because of the country’s immediate response to tackle the virus. However, the drop in economy that New Zealand experiences is worse than the one that its neighbour, Australia is met with.

After all, Ardern’s top priority was not to rescue the economy, but to save lives as many as possible. Death rate and contagion level is low in the country because of the government’s swift response to covid-19, packaged under the “go-hard, go-early” response.

Source: https://bbc.in/32DIWaP