You don't have to be an isolated island to pull this off. I live in Nova Scotia, Canada. We've bubbled with three surrounding provinces (~2.5 million people)

You don't have to be an isolated island to pull this off. I live in Nova Scotia, Canada. We've bubbled with three surrounding provinces (~2.5 million people) and are in basically the same boat as NZ. We've had < 10 known cases since June IIRC, often with < 5. We're currently at two known cases. We are NOT an island nation but have taken one hard line measure that has been effective: a 14 day quarantine when you come here from anywhere outside the four-province bubble We also have a largely compliant population when it comes to social distancing and masking in public indoor places. We also have the benefit of being a discretionary trip for most people who visit - there isn't a ton of travel in and out of the main cities compared with e.g. Toronto or Vancouver. But life is pretty much back to normal. Restaurants + bars buzzing (at 50% capacity), retail open, no lockdown, etc.