NZ on alert as COVID-19 returns – what we need to stamp it out again
According to UC and AoU experts, if we do the right things now, there’s a good chance we will be able to contain this COVID-19 community outbreak before it spreads too much further.
New Zealand is on alert as COVID-19 returns.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern activated a resurgence plan late yesterday, placing all of Auckland back under alert level 3 restrictions from today until midnight on Friday to allow time for contacts to be traced and tested.
But until we can identify the chain of transmission, New Zealanders should prepare for restrictions to remain in place for longer.
All four new cases are within one family in South Auckland, with no links yet discovered to quarantine or border facilities. But family members work in different places across different suburbs, which means the restrictions need to apply to the whole city.
When Melbourne found itself in a similar position a month ago, the city’s strategy was to lockdown specific suburbs. Unfortunately this failed to contain the virus.