The country will move to the highest COVID-19 alert level on Wednesday.
With 36 new coronavirus cases confirmed today, and two previous cases being treated as community transmission, the Prime
Minister has announced an immediate rise to COVID-19 Alert Level 3 – Restrict.
Within 48 hours of the announcement, the country will move to Alert Level 4 – Eliminate for four weeks. Schools will close, air travel and public transport will only be for those who work in essential
services, and non-essential businesses must immediately close.The SMC asked experts to comment on the news.
Professor Philip Hill, McAuley Professor of International Health, University of Otago, comments:
“I support strongly the encouragement of the Prime Minister for people to go outside within the rules.
“This is because the amount of time people are close to each other inside households increases their chances of
transmitting all infectious diseases to each other.”
No conflict of interest declared.
Professor Shaun Hendy, University of Auckland, comments:
“This is a good decision. It now seems likely that COVID-19 community transmission has been taking place in New Zealand
with two cases now unable to be linked to overseas travel. By going to Alert Level 3 and then 4, we should be able to
significantly reduce person to person contacts over the next few weeks and slow the spread down. This will give the
testing regime and our Ministry of Health contact tracing teams a good chance of containing and stamping out the
disease. By moving early, we have a chance of minimising the length of time we spend at Level 4.
“It is important now that people take this seriously and follow the government’s advice. Prepare but don’t panic.
Minimise unnecessary contact with others and try to head to the supermarket just once a week. Avoiding catching it
yourself is the best way you can protect the vulnerable people in our community.
“We will likely see the number of detected cases continue to rise over the next few weeks, but once they begin to fall
the government will be able to consider dropping the Alert Levels. We may also see Alert Levels drop in some parts of
the country if the government becomes confident that we are not seeing community transmission there and can restrict
travel sufficiently from regions at higher levels.
“I am very impressed that the government has managed this in a stepped manner despite intense pressure from many
commentators. If we had gone to Alert Level 4 on Saturday, I suspect we would have seen scenes at our supermarkets like
those we have become familiar with from overseas: long queues, crowded supermarkets, and empty shelves. Hopefully, the
government has given people a chance to prepare for what might be a long struggle with the disease.”
No conflict of interest declared.
Dr Dougal Sutherland, Clinical Practice Manager, Victoria Psychology Clinic, Victoria University of Wellington,
comments:
“It’s important to consider the broader psycho-social impact of school closure plans on children.
“When schools send students home and have them work remotely the accompanying sense of isolation and loss of social
contact could lead to increased levels of loneliness for some young people, and even triggering of depression for
others.
“Being isolated from peers and lacking the support of teachers could lead to elevated levels of anxiety for some kids
and teens as their fears run wild without the calm rationale of adults around them. This anxiety could be made worse by
loss of the daily structure that comes with regular classes and timetables. Daily routines and structures help provide a
sense of predictability and stability and without these life becomes less certain.
“On the other side of the coin, loss of structure and supervision could lead to increased levels of antisocial behaviour
and delinquency for some youth. Bored teens with lots of unstructured and unsupervised time on their hands doesn’t
necessarily lead to good outcomes.
“For students who have specific learning needs or are neurodivergent the inability to have more individualised support
from teachers could negatively impact their learning and engagement with school. These students often find self
motivation and staying on task, traits which are in high demand when working at home, much more difficult than
neurotypical kids.
“These possible consequences highlight how crucial schools and teachers are, not only for education, but for a child’s
broader social and psychological development. Of course, the Government would only introduce such measures if public
health needs demand it, but these measures could have hidden costs.
“There are measures that schools can take to reduce the potential for psychosocial disruption. Instigating and enforcing
regular work timetables and routines may help with structure and containment of anxiety.
“Regular checking-in with students may help keep them stay connected and be supervised. Where possible, using virtual
teaching platforms that have visual and audio connections can help maintain a sense of community and reduce the sense of
isolation. Most young people need few reminders to use social media, but schools can support this by reminding students
about the importance of social contact and keeping well.”
No conflict of interest declared.
Dr Sarb Johal, psychologist, comments:
“We are Alert Level 3 for Covid-19. We will be at Level 4 in 48 hours. And we will stay at Level 4 for at least four
weeks. I commend and fully support this decision. We have a window to make a difference in managing the transmission of
this virus. It is not going to be easy. Everyone will need to play their part.
“The decision taken by Cabinet today is extraordinary but it provides a level of certainty. And with certainty comes the
ability to focus and prepare.
“For many, this will bring up feelings of anxiety and perhaps worry about the future too. Changes often do, especially
when they are as momentous as these. So, remember, we are not alone. New Zealanders should know that they can reach out
– support will be rapidly scaled up to make sure that we can address isolation and lack of contact. It won’t be perfect,
but we will get there.
“And if people around you need to go for testing, please be kind. Be empathetic. Wash your hands, stay physically
distant, start ramping up your plans to stay socially connected, and make sure you schedule things you enjoy doing. It
sounds like a strange thing to say, but when people are stressed and anxious, they often forget to do the things that
they know will make them feel better.”
No conflict of interest declared.
Associate Professor Arindam Basu, College of Education, Health & Human Development, University of Canterbury, comments:
“The government has moved as soon as they sensed community transmission. This has shifted the picture, as it signals
that the spread of infection is no longer dependent on ‘imported infections/cases’, but instead human-to-human
transmission within the country from anyone who may have been exposed.
“This also indicates no one knows for sure when that transition happened and a large pool of actual cases already exist
that will continue to grow over the next few days to weeks using a pattern of spread referred to as ‘exponential’
spread. Actual new cases today are roughly four times the number of true cases 10 days ago, but we do not get to see
this number as we can test only so many people who will meet test criteria.
“Once the lockdown is in place – and as the PM repeatedly stressed, we must strictly comply with the Ministry of Health
instructions – the actual number of cases will start dropping (this would otherwise have taken a long time in the
absence of these measures). But that drop will not be captured in the reported positive counts because of the test
limitations; they may still show as if the positive cases are going up, but eventually the ‘reported’ cases will drop as
long as we are strict with the procedures (hand hygiene, isolation, quarantine). We have to be patient. That time
difference might be four weeks, but it can be shorter or longer based on how well we comply and how assiduously the case
and contact finding proceed.
“So there is a case to be patient and optimistic, and not to panic at all.”
No conflict of interest declared.