An Auckland microbiologist has expressed her gratitude and relief after the Government today announced they would increase the country's coronavirus alert level to four in the next 48 hours.
Dr Siouxsie Wiles said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was clear that "she would go hard, she would go fast and that’s exactly what they’ve [the Government] done."
"But what I’m more grateful for is that they have done it in a really considered way, so they have really made sure that everything was lined up, that they’re going to bring the whole country with us.
"It's thought about those vulnerable communities that this lockdown is going to be really difficult for, and made sure that everything is there for them, so I’m just so grateful that this is being done."
The country is currently at alert level three, meaning that travel in areas with clusters or community transmission is limited, affected educational facilities are closed, alternative ways of working are required and some non-essential businesses should close, and non acute services and procedures in hospitals deferred and healthcare staff reprioritised.
Alert level four, to begin in 48 hours, means a risk of sustained level of virus transmission. Contact between people is largely eliminated, and the public urged to stay at home. Essential services will remain in place.
The lockdown is expected to last for at least four weeks.
Dr Wiles said the Government has "moved faster in flattening the curve", meaning it would "allow the disease to run through but just sort of spreading over time."
"What's the game, here, is to actually minimise the number of cases we get by stoping all transmission between people who have it - people in households might get clusters where people in their households might get it and transmit to their family before we know about it - but it won't transmit further than that, and that's what's absolutely key here," she said.
New Zealand currently has 102 cases of Covid-19, after a further 36 cases were confirmed today.
"Every one of us plays a crucial role in this," she said.
The PM says we need to act now or risk further, dramatic increases in Covid-19 spread. (Source: Other)
"We are all links in a chain, and we need to break those chains and it's going to be very hard."
Dr Wiles said while it is expected to be difficult socially, she stressed the importance of staying connected through social media.
"We can stay on the phone, we can Facetime, we can Skype - we can do all of these things, but we need to do them. We must do them, because if we don't, then we wil be back in the position of community transmission.
"I'm asking everybody to do what needs to be done so that we can maybe get this over and done with in the smallest possible time."
Dr Wiles said there are currently 35 vaccine candidates in different stages of advancement. Some of the potential vaccines have been tested on humans.
"That still means, though, that we are 18 months away from a vaccine that's actually useful, but lots of people are trying."
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