Strong economy needed for better healthcare, economist argues as alert level decision looms

ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner says a well performing economy is crucial for better health outcomes in New Zealand.

Ms Zollner told TVNZ1's Breakfast today the economy and public health shouldn't be talked about as separate issues when it comes to New Zealand's response to Covid-19.

"You need a well performing economy to get the tax revenue to build the public health system to keep people alive ... you can see that in the Budget, it's still all about the economics really.

"I mean economics is about people and how we share resources in the end, not about the dollars per se, and a good, a strong economy really does lead to better health outcomes as well so they're definitely all related."

However, she also said as the Government makes a decision today on whether or not to move to Alert Level 2, the best economic data will be the Covid-19 cases, and whether it's known where they're coming from.

"It's always imperative to move out of lockdown as quickly as we can," she said, but added that there has been lessons to be learned from overseas.

In South Korea, as lockdown restrictions were eased, nightclubs were opened up and within a couple of days officials were trying to track down thousands of people who were exposed by one person with the virus.

In Germany a scheme to open up certain areas slowly has already been turned around with Covid-19 infections going up in just a few days.

"It is really challenging to get it right, but New Zealand being this close to eradication actually has a better shot at doing this once and doing it right," Ms Zollner said.

At 4pm today, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will give an announcement on when New Zealand will move to Alert Level 2.

Watch the Prime Minister announce when NZ will move to Alert Level 2 on TVNZ 1 and 1news.co.nz from 4pm today.