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Kate Hawkesby: Swift decision-making is needed for everyone's sake

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Tue, 28 Apr 2020, 10:07AM
Photo / NZ Herald

Kate Hawkesby: Swift decision-making is needed for everyone's sake

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Tue, 28 Apr 2020, 10:07AM

One new confirmed case yesterday .

One.

1,122 cases in New Zealand.

80 percent of them have recovered.

Seven are in Hospital.

It’s tiny, it’s such a small number of cases it makes it very tempting to want to skip 3 and go straight to level 2 surely?

But the experts tell us we need to move back down the levels slowly, I’m not sure how slowly, but I’d have thought if we spend the next 7 days in Level 3 reporting a grand total of zero cases then surely we can get to Level 2 quicker?

But we are as of today, at Level 3.. or as some have called it, Level 3.9.. it’s still pretty restrictive. If you can work from home, you should continue to, if you can keep kids at home, you should continue to. If you’re a business, you can only open if you’re contactless and observe social distance rules.

I know of some cafes and restaurants that are opening under that basis just to get the ball rolling, they’re offering takeaway coffees, limited menu items, call ahead, transfer the money, pick it up outside.

But the majority of them, unless they have those facilities set up, will remain shut until Level 2.

Sadly also staying shut until Level 2, hairdressers, beauty salons, if you thought you might be able to get your nails done, think again.

The PM acknowledged yesterday that we have all just experienced the strictest constraints placed on New Zealanders in modern history. Whether that was the right call, and for that long, is one for the history books and we won’t know the answer to that for some time. Modelling will be questioned, which experts were listened to, which weren’t, suspending parliament for that long, a power vacuum of about 3 people making all the decisions. These will all be questions raked over at another time.

For now, for most of us, the pressing issues are what’s happening in the immediate term, how soon can we break our bubbles, how soon we can resume social contact, how soon can we get back to normal life.  How soon can we get to the hairdresser!

So 2 weeks at Level 3, personally I think that’s too long, but Cabinet won’t make a decision on whether we lower our level again until May 11th. Let’s hope when they do make that decision, that they make it quickly.

Not just for us, but for the suffering businesses, the larger families still separated, the school kids hankering to get back to normal school life. Let’s hope that a swift decision is made on the 11th of May, that enables us all to be back to business as usual.. preferably by May 12th.

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