Auckland can breathe a sigh relief knowing at 6am on Sunday the region will move down to Alert Level 2 after another seven long days in lockdown. Government and health officials are now turning their minds to lessons learnt, following a week of mixed messaging, rule-breaking and blame and shame, writes political editor Jo Moir.
Since Valentine’s Day, the country’s largest city has spent roughly the same amount of time in Level 3 lockdown as it has out of it.
The public is growing weary and with news that some had clearly broken the rules – thrusting the region back into another lockdown – the team of five million has started to fray at the seams.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern acknowledged on Friday that while the Covid-19 elimination strategy is the “best for us, that does not make it easy”.
“Covid has taken a toll on so many in so many ways, but it will get better.’’
On that basis, she announced she will set out a “roadmap” for the country over the next few weeks for what the year ahead will look like and how vaccinations will affect the elimination strategy.
It’s not complete normality for Auckland though.
While it moves to Level 2 on Sunday, the rest of the country returns to the freedom of Level 1.
Cabinet will consider that decision at the end of next week and, if in a position to do so, Auckland will move to Level 1 at the start of the weekend.
Ardern says this plan is consistent with its “cautious” approach so far.
Director-General of Health Doctor Ashley Bloomfield says more than 6000 people were contacted as a result of the Valentine’s Day cluster and he credited Papatoetoe High School in particular for its compliance and readiness to get tested.
This cluster hasn’t been all smooth-sailing though, with blatant lockdown rule-breaking contributing to greater restrictions and raising serious questions about the way self-isolation requirements are communicated.
There are some individuals who can learn a lot from their mistakes, but those leading the response are not immune from those lessons either.
How and when casual contacts are pursued by health officials when texts and phone calls go unanswered is something Bloomfield and Ardern are already reviewing.
“We will look ... at what point in time we activate teams to go out,’’ Bloomfield said.
In addition, Bloomfield is being more explicit with his powers to put Section 70 public health orders in place.
This formally and legally requires people to isolate, report for a test, accept the test and then isolate once more - something those who attended City Fitness Hunters Plaza in Auckland on February 20 and 26 are now ordered to do.
Bloomfield says this will ultimately make it “crystal clear’’ for those wondering what, if anything, they’re required to do if they’ve been caught up in a place of interest related to a Covid-positive case.
Ardern added she doesn’t think people who have gone against public health advice have been deliberate in their actions to cause lockdowns.
No system is perfect, and as Ardern acknowledged, no lockdown in the last year has gone without its problems.
Plugging some of those holes and finding what was preventable will be the starting point Aucklanders in particular will be desperately hoping for.
