elimination, suppression and mitigation

These are all strategies for dealing with the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic.  The first, elimination strategy, is the one adopted by New Zealand. It involves are very hard lockdown initially with the closure of borders and the regime of social distancing in place.  What it offers is a faster return to normality and a functioning economy.  There is not precise definition of when elimination is achieved but one might be no new cases in 28 days, that is two weeks after the fortnight quarantine period.

 Suppression strategy is the one adopted by Australia. The idea is to have an initial period of lockdown to try to delay the progress of the virus so that the health system can cope. This initial lockdown is followed by a return to normality in the expectation that there will be further outbreaks but that these will be controlled by localised lockdowns, contact tracing and widespread testing. It remains to be seen whether this has been successful, or whether the virus can move faster than our mechanisms for dealing with it.

 Mitigation strategy allows most people to lead their normal lives except that large gatherings are not allowed, physical distancing must be practiced, and anyone who does have the virus must go into isolation.  The expectation is that the inevitable rise of the disease in the community can be managed in terms of public health systems, and that any particular outbreak can be dealt with swiftly. Eventually a large number of people will have survived the virus, thus providing herd immunity and disrupting the path of the virus through the community. This is the model Sweden adopted.