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Review
. 2020 Sep;37(3):218-221.
doi: 10.1017/ipm.2020.44. Epub 2020 May 14.

Let us unite against COVID-19 - a New Zealand perspective

G Bandyopadhyay  1   2 , A Meltzer  3
Affiliations
Review

Let us unite against COVID-19 - a New Zealand perspective

G Bandyopadhyay et al. Ir J Psychol Med. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

Novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has shaken the existence of mankind worldwide, including that of New Zealand. In comparison to other countries, New Zealand has had a very low number of confirmed and probable cases as well as COVID-19-related deaths. New Zealand closed its borders and rapidly declared a stringent lockdown to eliminate COVID-19. The country's 'go hard, go early' policy serves as an exemplar for the rest of the world to date. The mysterious nature of COVID-19 has caused tremendous stress and uncertainty leading to universal conflict between public health and state economy. Mental health services and non-government organisations have been proactive in the fight against COVID-19. Though there has been no significant rise in referrals to secondary mental health services to date (4 May 2020), a rapid surge in mental health presentations is widely anticipated. Telehealth may prove to be an efficient and cost-effective tool for the provision of future health services.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; New Zealand; mental health.

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References

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