Abstract

On 25 March 2020, Aotearoa New Zealand implemented stringent lockdown measures (Alert Level 4, in a four-level alert system) with the goal of eliminating community transmission of Covid-19. Once new cases are no longer detected over consecutive days, the probability of elimination is an important measure for informing decisions on when certain Covid-19 restrictions should be relaxed.

Our model of Covid-19 spread in Aotearoa New Zealand estimates that after 2-3 weeks of no new reported cases, there is a 95% probability that Covid-19 has been eliminated. We assessed the sensitivity of this estimate to varying model parameters, in particular to different likelihoods of detection of clinical cases and different levels of control effectiveness. Under an optimistic scenario with high detection of clinical cases, a 95% probability of elimination is achieved after 10 consecutive days with no new reported cases, while under a more pessimistic scenario with low case detection it is achieved after 22 days.

Executive Summary

  • Our model of Covid-19 spread estimates that after 2-3 weeks of no new reported cases, there is a 95% probability that COVID-19 has been eliminated in Aotearoa New Zealand.
  • A 95% probability of elimination is achieved after 10 consecutive days with no new reported cases under an optimistic scenario with high detection of clinical cases, and after 22 days under a more pessimistic scenario with low case detection.