A new “wellbeing approach” is needed to manage Covid-19 in New Zealand, according to ACT Party leader David Seymour.
In light of Auckland's most recent outbreak and subsequent Level 3 restrictions, the politician told TVNZ1’s Breakfast today that New Zealand “cannot afford to keep doing lockdowns”, and a new approach is needed.
Mr Seymour, whose play on words borrowed from the Government's 2019 "Wellbeing Budget", appeared alongside Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick as part of the programme's weekly political panel. Ms Swarbrick defended the Covid-19 effort so far as "managed incredibly well".
Under Auckland's Level 3 lockdown, workplaces can only open if trade can be conducted without physical contact with customers. Businesses can’t offer services that involve close personal contact unless they are deemed an essential service.
The ACT leader also slammed Deputy Leader Winston Peters' comments to overseas media that a quarantine breach may be the cause of Auckland's latest outbreak of Covid-19. (Source: Other)
Mr Seymour said a “wellbeing approach” would take into account all of the costs involved.
"So it’s students learning, it’s the mental health of small business people facing huge uncertainty, it’s people that have non-Covid health care and want to be screened or have elective surgeries that can’t at the moment …Once you take all of that into account one of the conclusions you come to is we cannot afford to keep doing lockdowns.
“We need to make the elimination strategy affordable and that means better tracing, it means better intelligence about how we manage risks, it means we need to coordinate across all Government departments.”
He says New Zealand should model its virus management strategy off of Taiwan, "who had 12 times fewer deaths per head of population than us - with no lockdown”.
Ms Swarbrick, however, said it is a “deeply complicated” situation. The Government’s process of elimination has been backed up by many health experts, she said.
Closed signs came back out in Auckland at midday today with the region returning to Level 3. (Source: Other)
“I think that we’ve done an incredibly good job to date. I mean we had 103 days without community transmission.
“All indications show we are managing incredibly well. That process and that approach of attempting to eliminate community transmission has been backed up by epidemiologists, by microbiologists - which I note politicians are not.”
Auckland is set to stay in Level 3 lockdown, while the rest of the nation remains at Level 2, until 11.59pm on Wednesday.
But Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said that date will be reviewed tomorrow.
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