New Zealand's largest city Auckland starts 7-day lockdown

A policy of zero corona, May have made sense last year when it was hoped the virus would be gone by fall, when it was feared the death rate was high, when hospitals being over run were a fear,

yet, here we are a year later and we know the death rate is less than one percent, that only the very old or sick are at risk and that corona is here for the long term .

And we have passed through a second winter with no single city in the world having overrun hospitals,

So Nz needs to reconsider there policy, if in summer you have two lockdowns, imagine what winter is going to be like.

the nz model is simply not realistic in the long term, and the necessity of a zero corona policy is more and more questionable.

Happily I left NZ when the current GOVT went into power. Everybody outside of NZ thinks this woman is great..She is NOT! She has single handedly destroyed NZ's economy and giving hand outs to people the country can not afford. THEN she goes and starts the refuge quota again before housing New Zealands poor.

She has handled Covid badly and thats what you get when you are wearing the "Mother Cap" instead of the "Prime Ministers Cap"

She needs to go!

This is news to me.

Ardern said we would not be yoyoing in and out of lockdown - but that is precisely what has happened here.

Funnily enough where I live we haven't had a COVID case for months, but we had to cancel some children's sporting events because there would be more than 100 people there.

Utterly sick of Jacinda Ardern and her government.

NZ, and Auckland in particular, is stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they do nothing there will be thousands of cases in no time (it is the UK variant) and if they lockdown the economy takes a hit. Given that mass vaccination is probably another six months away I think they need to swallow the bitter pill. Can't let it take off and get out of control just before autumn/winter.

Nobody dead from the virus but many dead from suicide due to lockdowns.

@ goodlucktoyou

Did you just make that up or did you actually look for statistics.

I 100% agree with Carpslidy!

The New Zealand model is simply not realistic.

Everyone in the world understands now after 1 year, that Lockdowns will not make the Virus dissapear.

To go for a zero corona cases policy by all means makes no sense and is completely out of reality.

I feel sorry for all the New Zealand people who are locked in their homes again.

I feel sorry for all the New Zealand people who are locked in their homes again.

Seems the people of NZ approve of Ardern’s handling of Covid. She beat the living daylights out of the opposition at the last election.

How is public opinion in your ‘home country’ regarding their handling of Covid?

Some rich and clever people started flying there few months ago thinking the safest place on Earth at that time but they didn't realize that people like them are the ones carrying the virus over there.

It would seem most have no idea what a lockdown actually means or how well it works to control community transmissions of the virus.

@alongfortheride

Everybody outside of NZ thinks this woman is great.

The majority of New Zealanders do too

She has single handedly destroyed NZ's economy

Not sure where you got this from. NZs economy is faring better than most globally. Our credit rating just increased and the associated report made a direct correlation to the measures implemented by her government

That’s because they don’t understand there the difference between ZeroCovid and NoCovid strategies. Yo-yoing is a strong indicator for that.

She needs to go!

She led her party to a thumping victory in the election just a few months ago.

Given her young age and good health ( as far as I know ), I can’t imagine any reason why she’d feel the need to step down now.

Is there a major scandal, health problem or plummet in approval ratings I have missed?

Need for a lockdown again there. Really struggling in NZ. Look, no lockdown in Japan yet.

The seven-day lockdown of a population of nearly 2 million, was prompted by the case of a person who had been infectious for a week but not in isolation.

Every time there is 1 case, lockdown for millions. Do doctors and scientists in NZ agree with that policies ?

Anyway, having to lockdown everytime there is a case , is a pure failure.

4 families, more than a dozen cases, a bunch of rule-breakers - causing the lockdown

"Covid-19: The evolution of the Auckland February cluster"

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/124387513/covid19-the-evolution-of-the-auckland-february-cluster

The Auckland February Cluster so far contains four families, more than a dozen cases

The first cases

At 1.30pm on February 14, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield and Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins held a press conference, where they announced three community cases in South Auckland. A student at Papatoetoe High School, to be known as Case A, her mother (Case B), and father (Case C).

A second family infected

Two days later, a close contact of Case A, a Year 9 student at Papatoetoe High School, returned a positive test. She’s Case D.

The following day, February 17, the same household produced cases E and F, a Year 12 student (a casual plus contact of Case A) and a woman recorded as being in the 40-49 age group, respectively.

A third household

On February 23, we hear of three new cases, as a third household joins the cluster.

Case J, the student’s older sister, who recently finished school and has been working at Kmart Botany Downs, and Case K, their younger sister, described as an infant.

Despite being told to self-isolate, another sister went to work at KFC Botany Downs on Monday and Tuesday, and tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday. She’s now Case L.

A fourth household and another lockdown

On Saturday, yet another household became involved. A 21-year-old student at Manukau Institute of Technology, who also works at Kerry Logistics (Oceania) Limited part-time, tested positive. He’s Case M.

His mother, who also tested positive, is Case N. Their other family members have tested negative.

Unfortunately, Case M is also a rule breaker. Instead of isolating at home, he went to campus for three days and the gym twice, including once after taking a Covid-19 test.

Cabinet decided that from 6am on Sunday, Auckland would move back up to level 3 and the rest of the country to level 2 for seven days.

Anyway, having to lockdown everytime there is a case , is a pure failure.

theyre not planning to do that, once immunisation has reached the 60~70% of the population and herd immunity, they wont have to lockdown again

Anyway, having to lockdown everytime there is a case , is a pure failure.

No it's not. They have been able to live for MONTHS like there is no virus. No masks, social distancing, live music, barbecues, and get this - when they do so, they aren't spreading the virus, and people don't die as a result of it. Unlike everywhere else in the world that is virus infested.

And with that, her popularity levels in NZ are out the roof.

I live in Auckland. 3 blocks away from the danger zone..

One person created this lockdown.

One person decided not to listen, it's all about me.

And they were correct, but now it's about the team of 5 million.

One selfish individual.