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Kate Hawkesby: Forget level 2 and head straight to Level 1

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Wed, 6 May 2020, 10:00AM
Photo / NZ Herald

Kate Hawkesby: Forget level 2 and head straight to Level 1

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Wed, 6 May 2020, 10:00AM

So a second day of zero cases, there are only 4 people in Hospital, no one in ICU.

We are still in level 3 and will be for another week, we're into our 7th week of being locked down.

Level 3’s definition is ‘Restrict’, which says, we have a heightened risk that the disease is not contained.

So surely that’s now out of date?

We’ve contained it.

Level 2.. which we hopefully.. if we’re lucky.. will be able to plunge into at the end of next week .. is ‘Reduce’.

The definition of that Level is that the disease is contained, BUT that risks of community transmission are growing.

Household transmission could be occurring. There are single or isolated cluster outbreaks.

That’s not even happening now.

So given all that, why aren’t we ditching Level 2 and heading straight to Level 1?

Level 1 is that the disease is contained.

So why are we going to waste time in Level 2?

If you look at what’s happening currently, despite us being in Level 3, most people are behaving like it’s Level 2.

What we do know, is that our economy needs opening up, our elective surgeries need to have the backlog cleared, many kids need to get back to school.

The people bemoaning coming out of the Level system early, or arguing we should stay in this restricted locked down existence longer, are the people with safe jobs, money coming in, and not under any threat from having the plug pulled on the economy.

That doesn’t take into account the greater good of others who’re less fortunate.

And the long term big picture for this country.

And you can’t make the health argument anymore, no one is at risk per se, we are not under threat.

We are now verging on an experiment being funded by small businesses – given they’re the ones who’ll pay for all this.

The cruel irony being they didn’t ask for it and they can’t pay for it. They’ll pay for it with their livelihoods, they’ll just go under.

So when the PM says she’s a perfectionist, that’s a bit of a slap in the face for those stuck involuntarily in her ‘recovery room’.

Because at zero cases again, it feels like we’ve recovered.

Being a perfectionist is all well and good if you’re handing in a University essay, but this isn’t a personal experiment on her part, it’s not an exercise in boosting the PM's international reputation or poll numbers. It’s real life. It’s about a health emergency that is now over. Covid is contained. The greater emergency now is the economy.

Getting that off life support, should be the number one priority.

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