[sershe]

NZ has a population of less than ~5mil, with 1/3rd being on one city, and no land borders with anyone (people claiming "border is just as good as being an island" don't realize that, before we even get to illegal crossings, border areas in Canada/USA and Mexico/USA are integrated and numerous, whereas in NZ any cross-border traffic is designed full-time around specialized chokepoints like ports and airports.

Good luck doing that in a country of 320mil with no internal border infrastructure or legal framework whatsoever, and a huge land-based border.

That said, even if it were possible, I'd take liberty over safety (from a vastly overblown hazard by all estimates) in this case; really grateful to an American for this crisis.