Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has praised New Zealand's response to COVID-19 and the way Kiwis cooperated with public health guidelines.
In an exclusive interview with Magic Talk's The Ryan Bridge Drive Show on Monday, Blair applauded the Government on its goal of eliminating the virus and the "top of class" policies it implemented, saying it's smart to try and get ahead of the disease.
"If you're able to eliminate the disease then do it, because apart from anything else for the moment, that gives you time and space to prepare in cases when the world starts opening up again - you're going to be at risk," he says.
"The policies that you've pursued I think are globally recognised as first of class. I think it's a great thing that you've done and I hope you can continue in that direction."
He also believes having Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern leading the country has helped too.
"I think it was definitely leadership to a degree. Jacinda Ardern, as I say, has been globally recognised as having done a fantastic job."
In preparation for his interview, Blair says he was reading an article about New Zealanders and their conformity to sensible practices, which he believes has helped avoid the "worst aspects" of the disease.
"There's only a limit to what government can do, it requires the cooperation of the people, and you've obviously had the right kind of relationship between the leaders and the people in order to have this happen. In the UK it's not really worked like that."
He says eliminating the virus in the UK looks "probably impossible" and it's likely they will experience more outbreaks and perhaps a second wave. The country has recorded nearly 305,000 cases and over 46,000 deaths, the fourth-highest death-rate in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 data.
Although the virus has been spreading globally since January, the world still won't be rid of it in the near future, he says. This is according to work he's completed at his non-profit organisation the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and people he's been talking to in this process.
"I think the answer to the question 'when will we get rid of COVID' is that for the foreseeable future, we won't. That's the bad news, the good news is we will get much better at treating it. There are vaccines on the way, there are therapeutic drugs that offer some hope of diminishing the severity of the disease."
His advice to leaders is to focus on two things when managing the virus going forward. The first is making sure countries have access to a vaccine once it is released, and the second is to have the capacity to test at scale and regularly if the world has to live with COVID-19.
He says it's an "enormous global problem", and his institute tracks carefully the vaccines that are currently being developed.
"The important thing is once these vaccines are tested and ready to come to market, producing and distributing them and making sure that's done on a fair basis is going to be a challenge, a big, big challenge in the world," he says.
"Even if you've managed to eliminate it in New Zealand - and as I say, you've done a fantastic job - in the end, you're part of a global community and you need the capability therefore of handling not just what might happen in your own country but what might come into your country from abroad."
Tony Blair's full interview on The Ryan Bridge Drive Show can be listened to above.
