Originally Posted by
KerrAvon
I have to say that I am disappointed by your response, John. You took a bum point and either can’t see it or can’t back down.
The population density is exactly the figure that you should compare.
I have never been to Auckland and so have to be careful when commenting, but as NZ is a country with a low population density, I think it inevitable that the city will have far fewer high rise buildings than London. And that is precisely part of the point that I am making. High rise buildings necessarily have communal areas and lifts, which will provide a route via which the virus will have the opportunity to spread (just think entry keypads and lift buttons - and that’s only part of it). That’s why population density matters. Add to that, travel; as I have said, I have never been to NZ, but upon a quick Google, I see that Auckland is currently building a small underground rail system. I would imagine that they haven’t bothered until now because the population density made it neither necessary nor viable. Compare that to London where public transport is really the only viable way of moving around the city. Again, that provides spreading opportunities.
And on the question of travel, think Heathrow, which shifts about 80 million passengers per years compared to Auckland at 21 million. When dealing with an illness that is capable of having an exponential growth rate, that difference really matters. And Heathrow is just one of the airports serving London.
You could say the hand that this country was dealt called for a careful and vigorous response to the pandemic and you would be right, but a comparison with NZ is a joke. The one with Germany is much more significant