What is the role of religion with enabling the best response to the coronavirus pandemic?
New Zealand has recently passed the three month mark for having no community transmission of coronavirus. Other than our borders being shut to overseas visitors, we go about our lives as normal. We don’t wear masks and there is no social distancing. We would adopt these practices in a heartbeat if we had to. We are trying to increase the amount of testing in our communities as this is an essential part of surveillance. It provides us with reassurance we are unlikely to have community transmission and enables us to detect it early when it happens again. In all likelihood we will have another outbreak though we’re doing our very best to have robust quarantine measures for the thousands of our citizens who want to come back home. About 0 - 3 people each day test positive as they undergo 14 days in a quarantine facility before allowed into the community. Each one is tested day 3 and 12 after their arrival.
Of course life isn’t back to normal. We are a country of five million and tourism taken a massive hit along with the hospitality sector of our economy. However being a relatively prosperous country many of our citizens are rediscovering what is on offer through having their holidays with in New Zealand as the option of going overseas isn’t so attractive for now.
Being an island nation with no borders has been an important factor in being able to control the virus. However, we made the decision to go into an austere and heavily restricted lockdown for about five weeks late March just as the numbers of new cases were beginning to escalate rapidly. The government has provided excellent leadership and I must commend our prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, a young woman whose just turned 40. She has played a pivotal role in bringing us together during a time of crisis. Along with our director of health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, we have been provided with clear guidance of what needs to be done, a realistic vision (elimination of community transmission) and informative updates as to how we are progressing. There’s been a sense of us being a team of five million with each of us having a role to play. Divisive politics were largely avoided for several months though with an election in seven weeks there’s been a resurgence of the typical party politics.
Essential to our success has been following the recommendations of those with expertise whether in medical science, economics or law. So the appropriate measures of social distancing, hygiene, testing for the virus and contact tracing. Its not complicated. I post this as a reminder of what is possible, certainly not to criticise the efforts across the globe to achieve the best health and economic outcomes amidst a worsening pandemic.
I also wished to focus on the role of religion during this time of crisis. As a country, approximately 45% of our community identities with an organised religion, predominantly Christianity, but also Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. There has been limited discussion about the role of religion amidst this world wide pandemic and I’d be interested to hear your comments if you’ve read this far. That role for me has become increasingly clear. We each need to positively contribute to our communities well being whether preventing the spread of coronavirus or assisting economic recovery in a post Covid economy. That means being a good citizen, cooperation with diverse peoples in our communities, being compassionate and kind, adhering to science and supporting positive government initiatives that help reduce the prevalence of coronavirus. There is no room for anti-science, divisiveness and the undermining of good governance.
Of course you don’t need to have any religion to do any of the above. Do no harm. Better to have no religion than the wrong religion. If religion enables and empowers us to be better, more effective citizens then what is the harm? Such religious affiliation should never be used as a vehicle to undermine those who are understandably sceptical about religion and wish to completely avoid it.
So how do you view the role of religion to enable the most effective response to the current crisis whether individually, as a community or for governing institutions?
Thoughts and comments?
New Zealand has recently passed the three month mark for having no community transmission of coronavirus. Other than our borders being shut to overseas visitors, we go about our lives as normal. We don’t wear masks and there is no social distancing. We would adopt these practices in a heartbeat if we had to. We are trying to increase the amount of testing in our communities as this is an essential part of surveillance. It provides us with reassurance we are unlikely to have community transmission and enables us to detect it early when it happens again. In all likelihood we will have another outbreak though we’re doing our very best to have robust quarantine measures for the thousands of our citizens who want to come back home. About 0 - 3 people each day test positive as they undergo 14 days in a quarantine facility before allowed into the community. Each one is tested day 3 and 12 after their arrival.
Of course life isn’t back to normal. We are a country of five million and tourism taken a massive hit along with the hospitality sector of our economy. However being a relatively prosperous country many of our citizens are rediscovering what is on offer through having their holidays with in New Zealand as the option of going overseas isn’t so attractive for now.
Being an island nation with no borders has been an important factor in being able to control the virus. However, we made the decision to go into an austere and heavily restricted lockdown for about five weeks late March just as the numbers of new cases were beginning to escalate rapidly. The government has provided excellent leadership and I must commend our prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, a young woman whose just turned 40. She has played a pivotal role in bringing us together during a time of crisis. Along with our director of health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, we have been provided with clear guidance of what needs to be done, a realistic vision (elimination of community transmission) and informative updates as to how we are progressing. There’s been a sense of us being a team of five million with each of us having a role to play. Divisive politics were largely avoided for several months though with an election in seven weeks there’s been a resurgence of the typical party politics.
Essential to our success has been following the recommendations of those with expertise whether in medical science, economics or law. So the appropriate measures of social distancing, hygiene, testing for the virus and contact tracing. Its not complicated. I post this as a reminder of what is possible, certainly not to criticise the efforts across the globe to achieve the best health and economic outcomes amidst a worsening pandemic.
I also wished to focus on the role of religion during this time of crisis. As a country, approximately 45% of our community identities with an organised religion, predominantly Christianity, but also Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. There has been limited discussion about the role of religion amidst this world wide pandemic and I’d be interested to hear your comments if you’ve read this far. That role for me has become increasingly clear. We each need to positively contribute to our communities well being whether preventing the spread of coronavirus or assisting economic recovery in a post Covid economy. That means being a good citizen, cooperation with diverse peoples in our communities, being compassionate and kind, adhering to science and supporting positive government initiatives that help reduce the prevalence of coronavirus. There is no room for anti-science, divisiveness and the undermining of good governance.
Of course you don’t need to have any religion to do any of the above. Do no harm. Better to have no religion than the wrong religion. If religion enables and empowers us to be better, more effective citizens then what is the harm? Such religious affiliation should never be used as a vehicle to undermine those who are understandably sceptical about religion and wish to completely avoid it.
So how do you view the role of religion to enable the most effective response to the current crisis whether individually, as a community or for governing institutions?
Thoughts and comments?
