Mark it in your diaries: 11.59pm, Monday April 27. Because even though life won’t change for many of us at that moment, the country’s move to Level 3 of the Covid-19 alert system will still be the first step towards some semblance of normality.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealed Cabinet’s much-anticipated decision about the move out of Level 4 lockdown late yesterday afternoon, which represents a five-day extension to the original deadline.
From April 28, the country will stay at Level 3 for at least two weeks, with Cabinet deciding on May 11 about whether or not to progress to Level 2.
Ms Ardern says the Government did consider a regional approach to the Covid-19 alert levels in their decision, given some areas currently have much lower case numbers, but felt it was still best to “stick together as a nation”. A regional approach hasn’t been ruled out for future decisions.
But for now, "the effort of our team of five million has broken the chain of transmission and taken a quantum leap forward in our goal to eliminate the virus,” Ms Ardern said in her speech yesterday, (of which you can find the full text here ).
"Please, stay strong, stay home, be kind, and let's finish what we started.”
And if you need a refresher course on what’s allowed at Level 3 next week (or ‘Level 4, but with KFC’ as it’s been described by some), you can find a few FAQs here , while Ms Ardern details the seven principles of Alert Level 3 here .
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Is contact tracing up to scratch?
Contact tracing of Covid-19 cases is critical in making sure New Zealand doesn’t go back to Level 4 lockdown.
However, an audit by infectious diseases specialist Dr Ayesha Verrall has found the country’s contact tracing is too slow and needs to increase three- or four-fold.
The independent audit was released yesterday afternoon after Cabinet considered it in their decision to move to Level 3 next week.
Dr Verrall told RNZ’s Checkpoint last night that at the time of her audit, the tracing system was only 30 per cent as good as it needed to be to cope with an outbreak.
But with improvements being made every day and the Government announcing a major investment in the contact tracing system, she says she would be comfortable moving to Alert Level 3 under those circumstances.
New Zealand had nine new confirmed and probable cases of Covid-19 yesterday, with Stuff reporting 41 Canterbury District Health Board staff have also had to go into isolation after coming into contact with colleagues infected with the virus.
Targeted and random testing will continue this week in a bid to discover any undetected community transmission of Covid-19.
Bridges says look to Australia
National Party leader Simon Bridges was swift to criticise the Government’s decision to move out of lockdown next week, saying they hadn’t done enough and “isn’t ready by its own standards and rhetoric”.
He also says New Zealand should be looking to Australia in its approach to eliminating Covid-19.
“Comparison is incredibly important,” Mr Bridges says. “[Australia] have kept their health system open, they have kept the vast majority of their businesses much more open than we have, all the while getting the same or similar health outcomes.”
In response to Australia’s approach, Finance Minister Grant Robertson told TVNZ’s Q&A programme last night that, “from our perspective, it’s about doing it once and doing it right”.
He says the Government wants to avoid the yo-yo effect of bouncing up and down through the alert system levels.
Mr Bridges says the Epidemic Response Committee will this morning question Cabinet ministers over the decision to extend the lockdown and whether it will do more harm than good.
Businesses welcome decision
Around 400,000 more people will now return to work next week, with businesses allowed to use this week to prepare for opening again in Level 3.
Experts are predicting it will throw the economy a much-needed lifeline . ANZ economist Sharon Zollner says it’s important the country sees progress, even if it's minimal.
“We do need to see continual forward progress, even if it's slow, just to help give us all a bit of encouragement, because this is a very difficult situation, particularly for small businesses,” she says.
With billions of dollars wiped off the economy since Covid-19 measures were introduced, many small and medium businesses in tourism, hospitality and retail have been struggling, with predictions yesterday that some may shut down for good .
The Finance Minister told Q&A last night that the Government is considering a range of options to further assist businesses and didn’t rule out possible rent subsidies for commercial tenants.
Schools prepare to open doors
Schools and early learning centres can also prepare to open from April 29 , with the Prime Minister saying they can be accessed this week for cleaning, maintenance and any other preparations.
Students in Years 1-10 who can’t learn at home during Level 3 will be able to attend, with schools scrambling to make plans as to how that will work under social distancing rules.
However, the Herald reports the country’s biggest childcare organisation, the Early Childhood Council, is still advising its members to stay closed during Level 3.
Peters loses High Court case
Winston Peters has lost his High Court case against top civil servants and former government ministers Paula Bennett and Anne Tolley.
Mr Peters went to the High Court last year claiming his privacy was breached when years of superannuation overpayments became public.
The court says there was a deliberate and offensive breach with the intention of embarrassing Mr Peters, however he wasn’t able to show that any of the people he took to court were behind it.
Mr Peters says the case “has caused considerable stress”, but adds it is “seriously welcome” to see the court confirm “a deliberate and malicious breach of privacy”.
Paula Bennett and Anne Tolley say it’s a pity taxpayers have had to foot the bill for the case.
Other news of note this morning:
The Sport Minister says he wants to see New Zealand have a return of some forms of competitive sport under Covid-19 Alert Level 2.
A man has been sentenced to 14 days in prison after spitting at police, while another man has been charged with attempting to infect three police officers with Covid-19 by spitting on them .
A group of hospital staff in the UK have been criticised after performing a "cringeworthy" haka to show their "passion and drive to beat coronavirus".
CNN reports Sir Richard Branson has offered up his private island as collateral as his Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia airlines face collapse.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced they’re ending all communications with four British tabloid newspapers .
And Jacinda Ardern is receiving international praise for her Covid-19 response and leadership, with an article in The Atlantic claiming “New Zealand’s Prime Minister may be the most effective leader on the planet.”
And finally...
Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch has received a big boost of donations after a story aired on 1 NEWS about its struggles during the nationwide lockdown.
Orana Park’s Givealittle page was sitting at $18,000 when the story ran on Monday night – those donations have now passed the $212,000 mark.
The money raised will pay for essential costs, including food for the animals and heating for certain primates. The park says they’re “overwhelmed and humbled” by the support for their animals.
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