The Second Wave: Come from Away

The second pandemic wave, from July 2020 to January 2022, looks at the heavy lockdowns in Australia, New Zealand, Nova Scotia, and Canada. At this time, stigma turned quickly to those “from away.” In the case of Australia and New Zealand, it included nationals who could be abroad and attempt to come home. Emphasis on strict quarantine measures assumed that the only way to contract the virus would be by breaking quarantine measures rather than seeing them as imperfect. Great swells of pride also rose during this wave, which later worked to create exclusionary cultures. The “Come From Away” experience outlines how far the Zero-COVID-19 approach jurisdictions went to create a sense of “safety” as a consequence to others who faced devastating banishment in the case of New Zealand and Australia.