[ad_1]
This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and republished with permission.
Some Aucklanders say political pressure from the impending elections is forcing the government to lower the alert level for the city when it is not quite ready.
The cabinet will meet this morning to discuss alert levels with an announcement on any changes this afternoon.
Auckland dropped from lockdown alert level 3 to custom ‘alert level 2.5’ on August 31, while the rest of the country remains at level 2.
READ MORE:
* Coronavirus: what we know so far about alert level 1 and when we might move there.
* Coronavirus: No need to renew alert level system, academics say
* ‘Prepare for waves of Covid-19’: Civil Defense
For Auckland that means social gatherings are restricted to just 10 people, with 50 allowed for funerals and tangihanga, while 100 are allowed in the rest of the country.
New mother Courtney Bennett, who lives in Takapuna on Auckland’s north shore, said the second lockdown has been much more difficult than the first and has affected her mental health.
“I think it definitely took a toll on me mentally and there were days when I felt a bit depressed.
Amy Williams / RNZ
A man with a mask on Auckland’s Queen Street.
“But then … as a result of the lockdown, everyone is home. So I also have my whole family at home.
“So the flip side of the coin is that there was a lot more support, so obviously there are pros and cons.”
She said family and friends who own businesses are really struggling, but going to a lower alert level makes her nervous because she sees too few people paying attention to the public health message to hide when they are away from home.
“I would like to see the mandatory masks in any place where you cannot socially distance yourself.
“Places like shopping malls, definitely supermarkets … and even on busy streets and that sort of thing.”
Avondale union organizer Fala Haulangi said city workers are making it difficult.
“We are very concerned that there are some workers whose hours have been cut or that some workers have been laid off because there is no longer work there.”
But he is concerned that the city will lower alert levels while cases of community transmission are still discovered.
“If we still have the cluster queue, I would rather we stay at 2.5.”
Mika Baumeister / Unsplash
A mother from Auckland would like to see a much wider use of masks in the city.
Need for Bluetooth
In Remuera, teacher and parent Hannah Armstrong said she’s disappointed that there is still no Bluetooth technology to track close contacts.
He said that without it, no additional outbreak, which is inevitable, is almost certain to get out of control.
“Certainly, the application is not enough to track everyone.
“I know [the government] said on the radio last week that [app use] had doubled from the week before … but it was as if [had had] 2 million users that day.
“Well, that’s not very high for the number of people we have in the country, that doesn’t leave me much comfort.”
Overstaying is a concern
Pakilau Manase Lua is the President of the Pacific Response Coordination Team of the Pacific Leadership Forum.
He said that there are thousands of people who stay too long in Auckland too scared to get tested for Covid-19 because they fear deportation.
He said the government needs to do more to reassure them so they can be tracked and tracked down, and changing the alert level before they have done so would be reckless.
“We are still finding new cases, you have a whole population [of overstayers] … that you can’t track and trace.
“So I’m a bit skeptical because I think … people’s lives should be the first priority rather than the economy – we can always boost the economy again.”
Meanwhile, the president of Te Puea Marae in south Auckland, Hurimoana Dennis, said that in general people are sticking to the rules of physical distancing and that she is optimistic that the city is ready to receive more freedom.
“[And if we] just follow the rules and so on, then yeah, I think we’re done. We are quite disciplined. “
Predictions
So what do Auckland residents think the government will decide about lowering alert levels?
Fala Haulangi: “I have a feeling we could go to level 2.”
Courtney Bennett: “I think we will go down a notch, but I think it has a lot to do with the elections. I wonder if it wasn’t an election year if we would. “
Hannah Armstrong: “With the elections coming up as well, I feel like that puts a lot of pressure on everyone to be happy, so I think it will probably go down to two.”
Pakilau Manase Lua: “I think we will. I think there is economic pressure. It’s voting, you know, it’s campaign times, the government wants to appear to be in favor of business ”.
The tiers announcement is at 1pm and the changes are expected to go into effect one minute before midnight on Wednesday.
This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and republished with permission.
