End of Year Update 2020: What a Turning Point it Was...
"The first 10 million official global cases of Covid-19 took 154 days to reach. The second 10 million took 43 days. The third and fourth took 38 and 34 days respectively. The fifth and sixth took 20 and 17 days. And the 70 million and 80 million mark were both reached in just a mind boggling 15 days..."
- Quote from my latest book 'Papatuanuku's Breath.'
I can remember writing in last year's 'End of Year Update' that 2020 was going to be a turning point. My thinking was that humanity would finally make some drastic future life choices to provide us with some hope of a more environmentally balanced and sustainable approach moving forward, especially as our species approached a planetary resource depleting population of 8 billion. However, despite 40 years of scientists warning us about the sheer folly of going about our lives 'business as usual', it was clear that despite some of the most impactful weather events in recorded history throughout 2019, this change clearly wasn't just going to happen without some seriously hardcore impetus.
lndeed, I certainly didn't predict just how catastrophic this 'impetus' would turn out to be especially as the trajectory of events in 2020 unfolded to the epidemiological explosion of a previously unknown pathogen called the Coronavirus. Utterly upending many aspects of society, quarantining globalization, and giving humanity some massive questions to contemplate regarding our approach to this do or die decade, it was as if the Earth Mother (or Papatuanuku) herself was giving us a major uppercut to put us all back in line.
Looking back at January 2020, Australia was already reeling from some of its biggest ever recorded forest fires, (alongside California, the Amazon Rainforest and Siberia), yet although their consequences were tragic, especially for the millions of those species directly affected, it didn't compel us to change our behaviours in any major way. Instead it took an invisible virus that affected almost everyone right to their very doorstep to send our species reeling to its knees and dramatically changing all that we had been planning for over the unfolding year...
The students on our Conservation Medicine in New Zealand course in January, February and March of 2020 had been following the virus' trajectory everyday for our course requirements as it surged through China, then South Korea and eventually onto its devastating trail in Italy, Spain, the UK and New York. Yet even we didn't predict that we would have our program cut three weeks short (at Day 55) as the World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus to be a global pandemic and the Trump Administration immediately closed all the borders to America from Europe. Our students had to be rushed on flights back to the USA within 72 hours in mid March as all global study abroads were terminated - effective immediately. Despite the undeniable disbelief, sadness, frustration and overall trauma, the decision turned out to be somewhat of a blessing in disguise as our entire country went into a 6 week lockdown just 10 days later as New Zealand aimed to 'go hard and go early' to prevent the brutal health effects of the spreading epidemiological nightmare.
Despite the economic and social challenges of an enforced lockdown, as well as closing the borders and implementing government sponsored two week managed isolation protocols for all returning citizens and residents, (of which almost 85,000 people utilized while returning home throughout the year), New Zealand was subjected to only 25 deaths and just over 2000 cases by the end of 2020. Compare this to over 300,000 deaths and 16+ million cases that the USA suffered under the leadership of the Trump Administration essentially encapsulating 20% of total officially recorded mortalities while having just 4% of the world's population. It was an outcome that saw him reprimanded by the American people at the ballot box and consequently voted out of office by over 7 million votes and an electoral college pasting of 306 votes to 232 in favour of Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
I write about the geopolitical, economic, cultural and public health impact of this 'annus horibilius' in greater detail in my book: 'Papatuanuku's Breath' which breaks down this 'Covidian Era' and what it means for our species moving forward. For those interested in having a read, click onto the link below to secure your copy.
(Or just email me direct if you are in New Zealand and want to get a signed copy sent straight to your home.)
Thank you so much to Creative New Zealand for funding this literary work, and helping to plug the financial gap with the cancellation of all our study abroad programs due to the ongoing border closures and precautions taken by the New Zealand government and Michigan State University. Jeanette, Oli and I would normally have returned to the USA in July teaching our courses in Hawaii and Michigan but these were put on hold as the University went into online class format and Jeanette was able to teach her Fall semester courses whilst we laid low and played things safe in Aotearoa.
I won't go into much more detail about how the rest of the year unfolded, as the book does most of the telling, but I can say that we feel very lucky to be able to raise our rambunctious wee two year old in a country that has leadership that places the public health of its people first, and listens to the advice of scientists in how best to tackle the rapidly changing epidemiological dynamic of such a devious virus. Jacinda Ardern certainly received the gratitude of the people for her brilliantly communicated and tactical response to this public health emergency securing an absolute landslide election victory in October sweeping her party to power for the first time ever under an MMP government without the need of a coalition agreement with any other political party.
'Papatuanuku's Breath' looks at how these elections unfolded and provides ideas for how best to move forward with a sense of dignity into this century of crisis. It therefore explores environmental, medical and entrepreneurially sound approaches based on the many Covid-19 coping strategies adopted by countries and cultures all over the world, as well as drawing on the indigenous knowledge and wisdom of my Maori culture.
As the undeniable 'shock' of 2020 comes to an end and the extreme level of 'patience and discipline' that is required in 2021 rapidly dawns upon us all (especially as the logistically challenging roll out of Coronavirus vaccines unfold) - it strikes me as a time where our planet will continue to play life deep in the trenches of this era of 'invisible viral warfare', and it will be fascinating to see how we culturally adapt to this challenge laid before us...
Wishing you all a safe end to 2020, strength, aroha and support for the challenges to come, and a wise, well-researched and humbly determined approach to 2021.
Arohanui
Nathan Hoturoa Gray xx