A Different Kind of Power: A Memoir

Ardern first saw reports of COVID-19 on the news in January 2020, and though busy with other matters of government, she kept abreast of developments as the virus spread throughout the world. New Zealand confirmed its first case of the disease near the end of February, and Ardern made the difficult decision to close the country’s borders to all noncitizens. She developed a close working relationship with her chief science advisor, Juliet Gerrard, as they researched intensively and met daily to develop a strategy to combat the virus’s spread. They realized that effectively reducing its impact was impossible because healthcare systems would inevitably be overwhelmed, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths. Consequently, their goal was to keep COVID-19 out of the country entirely. The cabinet approved a four-level alert system, in which the alert levels ranged from business-as-usual to full lockdown.

By March 2020, Ardern’s parents had moved into her home to form a bubble, while the country went into lockdown. Most of Ardern’s staff worked from home, while only she and her senior secretary, Grant, Raj, his assistant (Andrew Campbell), and Juliet continued in the government building. Ardern and her staff tracked figures on a large whiteboard and worked frantically to track and trace outbreaks.