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ANALYSIS: Four months ago, the idea of going down to Covid-19 alert level 2 while Covid-19 cases kept popping up would have sounded the alarm bells. New Zealand was nearing the end of a total lockdown, with health officials reporting between 13 and two new cases a day.
Fast-forward to Monday, and Auckland has left a slight lockdown as Covid-19 cases continue to be found. There were 11 in the community on Saturday and two, including one case in Tokoroa, to count on Sunday. Cafes, gyms and bars will be open again.
The days of zero cases that made celebratory headlines when the country last moved from alert levels 3 to 2 were not necessary. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Sunday that being at level 2 while “having to take down a group like this” had been anticipated by the government.
“Our system is good. It is designed to keep us on track with our elimination strategy at level 2, in the scenario we have now. But it will only work if people follow the lead. “
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Greater use of masks should be required, according to epidemiologists. The government has required the use of masks on public transport and has not ruled out making a broader order to wear masks if necessary.
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The government has begun to rely on its strengthened testing and tracing systems, a sign of maturity in New Zealand’s pandemic response. Ardern is now confident that the “fundamentals” are correct and says that “New Zealand has proven to be agile.”
“We brought the use of masks because of what the tests have told us. We have used QR codes as an additional tool, we will continue to use technological solutions … But they all add to an existing very solid foundation. “
But the experience of the latter group suggests that the government has been more reactive than agile.
This outbreak prompted the government to wear masks, making them mandatory on public transportation. The advice of the World Health Organization on the use of masks (wear them when physical distancing cannot be performed) has changed. But this guide changed in June, not August.
This outbreak was needed for a trial of CovidCard Bluetooth technology to spread within managed isolation facilities. This announcement came hours before the National Party launched a policy that would do the same: “We have never made a political decision in the management of Covid-19,” Ardern said on Sunday.
And it took this outbreak for companies to be forced to display QR codes that matched the government’s CovidTracer app. A review of the contact tracing system released Thursday indicated that there was an urgent need for further development of the application, but it appeared that it was not “a key workflow within the [health] work program of the ministry ”.
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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the government’s response to Covid-19 has solid foundations. (file photo)
Whats Next? New Zealand’s tolerance for Covid-19 is unlikely to change as people overwhelmingly support the “takedown” strategy and many call for a smarter response.
ACT leader David Seymour has been denouncing the cost of the locks, saying the move to crush the broadcast is effective but unsustainable. He says the government needs to implement the cheapest measures that can or can reduce the virus’s replication rate: the use of masks and a $ 100 million rollout of CovidCard technology.
Epidemiologist Michael Baker said Stuff that more gradients are required between levels 2 and 3, including a stricter level 2.5 that requires the use of masks in all indoor environments outside the home.
“It seems unlikely that we will eliminate [this cluster] unless we add other measures to the mix. “
Ardern on Sunday urged widespread use of masks in Auckland, but said the government would not yet make it mandatory. He took the phrase “alert level 2.5” to describe the slightly higher restrictions that will remain in Auckland; such rules would allow New Zealand to “manage” the group.
“If we have a situation where we remove those restrictions but people continue to have large gatherings, or people don’t follow social distancing, or people go to work when they’re sick, it won’t work.”
If New Zealand wants to be smarter in eliminating this virus, more people will be needed to follow the current rules. The Government may need to show greater agility before the next big outbreak of Covid-19, and time is now ticking.
