Covid 19 coronavirus: Heather du Plessis-Allan – To Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, thank you!

COMMENTARY:

Thanks to the Prime Minister for the courageous call to bring Auckland to Level 2 today.

I don’t think it was an easy decision.

It’s a risk to take, especially given the new daily case numbers we’re still seeing. Five new cases in the community today, two yesterday, 11 on Saturday. Compare that to the last crash: when we entered level 2 in May, we had a series of zeros and low-level numbers like ones and two.

Also consider what some of the leading health experts have to say. Shaun Hendy, whose model has reported to the government, wanted them to reconsider the move today. Siouxsie Wiles says she is concerned about how long it will take to get the group under control now.

But, this is a welcome departure from the super-cautious approach thus far. This is exactly what the business community and commentators have been urging the government to do for months: deal with clusters through contact tracing and testing and face masks instead of closed closures.

Really, this will be the first real test of our systems and if we can control outbreaks without blocking.

I admit, it’s a bit concerning that leading health experts don’t seem confident that these systems can do their job. But the Health Minister and Prime Minister have assured us that they are ready to go and frankly six months from the first case of Covid is enough to get them ready.

There is no doubt that this is political. The public mood is changing and tolerance for the second lockdown and the prospect of future lockouts is waning. It is obvious that Auckland residents have repeatedly violated the closure rules, from crowds on the beaches to crowds in parks and underground church services. And now there is at least one survey to back that up, with Auckland residents reporting lower enforcement of the rules.

I am sure it is a call that the Prime Minister would have preferred to make on the other side of an election, not before. Because if this backfires, and you don’t have the systems in place and you can’t control this group, just imagine what you’re going to do with the Labor vote.

So it is a brave decision. But this is the future. This is how we should deal with future outbreaks. So to the prime minister and the government, thank you.