Frankly Speaking&#8230;

Resources

Johns Hopkins University: Coronavirus Resource Center

Ministry of Health: Covid-19 – current cases

Previous related blogposts

Life in Lock Down: Day 22 – Is that a light at the end of a four week long tunnel?!

Life in Lock Down: Day 27 – and it’s been a shit day

Life in Lock Down: Day 28 – An Open Letter to Prime Minister Ardern

Life in Lock Down: Day 29 & 30

Life in Lock Down: Day 31 & 32

Life in Lock Down: Day 33 & 34

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Acknowledgement: Rod Emmerson

This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 30 April 2020.

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Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: Alert Level 3, Covid-19

Life in Lock Down: Day 33 & 34

29 April 2020 Frank Macskasy 2 comments

April 27: Day 33 of living in lock-down…

Five more cases, only one of which has been confirmed. And another of our fellow New Zealanders has fallen to the virus, a woman in her nineties, a resident from St Margaret’s Rest Home in Auckland.

Today my partner and I have discussed merging our ‘bubbles’. It will have been over four weeks since we’ve seen each other, aside from ‘Zoom‘ video-calling.

The “catch” is that whilst her ‘bubble’ is only three people – mine is significantly larger. The risk from me is greater than from her.

On the ‘positive side of the ledger’, the Hutt Valley and Wellington DHBs have not recorded any further C19 infections. As at 9am this morning;

And going back to last Thursday, still no new cases;

At today’s press conference with PM Ardern and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield, there was this “golden moment” at 33:54;

[alt.link]

The expression on Dr Bloomfield’s face: priceless. It was the non-verbal version of, “What the f**k?!”

It was obviously a questioned geared to create headlines, which in turn would generate ‘clicks’. (Plus it was just plain dumb.) Dr Bloomfield would have none of it. The man has not spent decades of his life in the medical profession to answer gormless questions about something an orange Village Idiot, sitting in the White House, said when his walnut-sized brain was coasting in ‘neutral’.

It was up to the PM to bat the inane question aside, treating it with the contempt it deserved.

Tonight will be the last day/night of living under Level 4. Tomorrow, the “ropes” will have been loosened somewhat to allow businesses to re-open, though in a limited way, practicing social-distancing.

Though from what little I’ve seen of “social distancing” within supermarkets and road gangs, I am not filled with optimism.

Current covid19 cases: 1,469

Cases in ICU: 1

Number of deaths: 19

April 28: Day 1 of Level 3…

The first day of Level 3 – a step closer to some semblance of ‘normality’. (Though much of what we Humans call ‘normal’ has ravaged the planet; consumed our resources; filled the atmosphere with greenhouses gases; turned out oceans into a vast garbage dump; created mass-extinctions; and ripped the guts out of our rain forests. Yet, so many of us yearn to return to that ‘normality’…

Hitting the road, I pass the Park N Ride as I do each day. The signs are good: only four cars present – one more than usual.

Perhaps my forebodings are baseless and people will respect the necessity to stay home?

Fat chance. These *are* humans, after all.

On the roads leading to SH2, the increase in traffic is obvious. Last week there would have been three or four cars – it’s way more.

Then out onto SH2. I start recording the commercial vehicles with my voicecorder, and given up after five minutes. Traffic is heavy, both commercial and non-commercial. In fact, it’s fairly similar to any given day at around 11am before anyone ever heard of ‘novel coronavirus’ or ‘covid19’. The Melling Interchange was as busy as ever;

The red ship that had anchored in the harbour, within view of the motorway, had gone. It’s fourteen days quarantine must have included it’s ocean-going time spent on the high seas.

This raises questions how freighters will deal with quarantine protocols in future. With air travel limited, will a fourteen day mandatory quarantine for sea-going freighters be uneconomic? It will certainly be a long time before anyone is bold enough to step foot on a cruise-liner again. The owners of those floating hotels/petri dishes couldn’t give those tickets away.

After exiting the Terrace Tunnel and queuing with other traffic at the lights;

It was “all on”. If the Prime Minister was watching out the windows of her Ninth Floor office, she must have had her head in her hands, shaking it in despair.

This wasn’t Level 3, 2, or 1. This was pre-Level Anything. Whatever these New Zealanders had heard on the radio, TV, or internet was completely opposite to how I understand Level 3 to operate.

Even the motorhomes were on the move again, like this one that pulled up in Hataitai;

Driving along the southern coast and Lyall Bay, it suddenly struck me that bicylists were again a vulnerable minority. The dominance of the automobile had returned.

One plucky father had two children (5? 4?) on their little bikes trailing behind him on Hamilton Road, with cars zipping past. (I braked to a crawl, to slowly over-take, probably irritating drivers behind me. F**k’em.)

In the days to come, as car drivers reassert their dominance on the roads, bolstered by a tonne of metal, glass, rubber, and fabric, bicyclists will come to remember the brief month that their mode of transport ruled the Ways. It may be a tale they pass on to their grandkids…

At 1PM, we get the good news: only three new cases and – thankfully – no additional fatalities. Well, that’s the positive side. The downside? This;

Can you spot two-metre distancing outside the Burger Fuel outlet? No, neither can I.

Just one asymptomatic carrier of covid19… that’s all it takes. Just. One. Person.

This scene will be repeated around the country and become more common as people become more complacent.

Cue sequel: The Virus Strikes Back.

My drive home tonight, at about 8pm was no different. Traffic. Lots of it. In fact, it seemed as if there were more vehicles on the motorway than usual at that hour of the night.

And one more thing.

The smell.

There was a “new” acrid smell in the air. The smell of burning fossil fuel had returned. In time my nostrils would become accustomed to the odour again and not register to my senses.

But I will also have lost the smell I’d enjoyed only up until last night – clean air.

Postscript

Meanwhile, the lack of new cases in Wellington and the Hutt Valley mercifully continues;

Current covid19 cases: 1,472

Cases in ICU: 1

Number of deaths: 19

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References

Day 33

Ministry of Health: Covid-19 – current cases – 27 April 2020

Ministry of Health: Covid-19 – current cases – 23 April 2020 (via Wayback Machine)

Youtube: Ministry of Health update on Covid-19 – April 27

RNZ: One new confirmed case of Covid-19 today, but one further death

Day 34

Twitter: Richard Hills – Burger Fuel – covid19 – queue -28.4.20

Ministry of Health: Covid-19 – current cases – 28 April 2020

RNZ: Covid-19 latest update – Three new cases in NZ, no further deaths

Must Read

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

The Independent: Is Sweden having second thoughts on lockdown?

The Out And Abouter: Reached For Comment, Coronavirus Says It’s Also Very In Favour Of Reopening The Economy Immediately

Elemental: Hold the Line

Other Blogs

Resources

Johns Hopkins University: Coronavirus Resource Center

Ministry of Health: Covid-19 – current cases

Previous related blogposts

Life in Lock Down: Day 22 – Is that a light at the end of a four week long tunnel?!

Life in Lock Down: Day 27 – and it’s been a shit day

Life in Lock Down: Day 28 – An Open Letter to Prime Minister Ardern

Life in Lock Down: Day 29 & 30

Life in Lock Down: Day 31 & 32

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Acknowledgement: Rod Emmerson

This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on day month year.

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Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: Alert Level 3, Covid-19, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, level 4 lock down

Life in Lock Down: Day 31 & 32

27 April 2020 Frank Macskasy Leave a comment

April 25: Day 31 of living in lock-down…

It’s ANZAC Day. I was planning to get up early to stand outside… but didn’t wake up till much later. I guess that’s my body telling me it had other plans (mostly involving rest).

It’s another work-day so prep accordingly and hit the road. It’s reassuring that there are no cars at the nearby Park N Ride. With it being a fine, sunny summer-like day, it will not bode well if people decide to flock to parks and beaches.

And traffic did appear to be slightly heavier than during the week. Which meant people were making the most of a fine Saturday/ANZAC Day to get out and drive somewhere. Not good.

In the harbour, the red freighter was still sitting where it had first been spotted;

It seems a double-standard that the crew of the freighter are expected to be in quarantine whilst flight crew on Air New Zealand flights are exempt from the same protocols.

Traffic around the Terrace Tunnel was definitely busier than during the working week (such as it is).

Queues at Chaffer Street New World stretched around the block. Good personal distancing on the footpath. Though as my experience at other supermarkets showed, people struggled to maintain that distancing in the aisles. Some forgot; others couldn’t care less.

Both beaches at Oriental Bay were largely deserted;

Campervans at the Evans Bay Marina carpark had changed; some had gone; others had arrived.

Question; do these campervans have GPS tracking? If so, the companies leasing these vehicles should be able to determine when they are on the road, flouting lock-down.

Meantime, in another example of lazy thinking mixed with self-entitlement, the owners of Black Sands Lodge seem unable to understand what lock-down and stay at home means in simple english;

The Lodge owners asserted,

Owners of an Auckland lodge offering a “get-away” escape during alert level 3 say they are well within their rights to do so because they are an essential service.

More like taking-the-piss.

Businesses that are scrupulously respecting the lock-down and suffering because of lost income must be spitting with fury at outfits like Black Sands Lodge and it’s owners.

When I start taking holidays again (and by Thor, I need one), it won’t be at Black Sands Lodge. Like, ever.

Current covid19 cases: 1,461

Cases in ICU: 1

Number of deaths: 18

April 26: Day 32 of living in lock-down…

Day of from work. But housework remains; dust and dirty laundry wait for no man, woman, or virus.

It’s still lock-down so I stay home. Though I wonder if I’m the only bugger doing it. Glancing out the window, my neighbours (couple in their late 20s) are loading up their car with household items, including what looks like camping gear. At around 1pm they drive off.

It’s the 1pm daily announcement; there are nine new cases but mercifully no deaths.

The couple return about an hour later. They’ve dropped of the items to god-knows-where.

On Radio NZ, epidemiologist Michael Baker answers questions from listeners. Thankfully, RNZ has weeded out the more gormless ones from conspiracy theorists nutcases and the question and answer session is productive.

The issue of Sweden’s light-handed approach to the pandemic is raised. Sweden has opted for no lock-down and instead left it to individuals to keep themselves safe. It’s a libertarian’s masterbatory wet-dream.

Swedes are paying for their light-handed approach in blood. According to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center global data-base, as at 5.00PM on 26 April, their death toll stands at 2,192;

Sweden’s population is approximately ten million, just a little over twice Aotearoa New Zealand’s. But the death toll from covid19 is nearly 122 times ours.

There those who would makes excuses that such a death toll is a worthwhile price to pay to open up the economy again. The usual refrain is that fatalities are mostly amongst the old who would be dead anyway soon from old age and/or age-related causes.

Which is untrue, as covid19 also kills younger people. The youngest, to date, was a six week old baby.

A lax approach demands a high price which will be paid by others than mercenary capitalists, and their political puppets, who are desperate to see consumers spending their dollars again.

It’s ironic that the cries of over-reaction by critics to the government-mandated lock-down are able to do so only because that lock-down has been (relatively) successful. When idiots like David Seymour assert;

“That really I think is not quite right. I think the risk posed by the virus is not as great as it was sold to us.

The Prime Minister said tens of thousands of people would die if we do nothing. I don’t think there was any plausible scenario given what we know now about the virus in general – especially in New Zealand – where that would happen.

If we know that the virus was not as bad as we thought, and the lockdown is worse than we thought, then the right thing to do is to actually change the balance between the lockdown measures and the virus.”

— they are playing with people’s lives for political gain (votes).

And when populist, right-leaning media such as Newstalk ZB misrepresent statements from experts;

— then it compounds confusion in the public mind.

In fact, Dr Wiles did not say “NZ is unlikely to see a coronavirus outbreak“.

Within the text of the article, beneath the staggeringly misleading headline, her actual statements are published;

Auckland University’s Siouxsie Wiles says we are likely to see cases here due to the high number of overseas cases, but told Mike Hosking the number of cases is likely to be limited.

“We don’t have the same population density and when small number of cases come in, they can be easily isolated and stopped.”

The misleading headline has been quoted ad nauseum by right–winger trolls on social media who have either not read the actual text of the article, or have willfully exploited the lie to sow uncertainty. (Many of the trolls are pathologically misogynistic in their smears against Dr Wiles.)

When government hands out taxpayer’s dollars to prop up the msm, I hope they by-pass NewstalkZB. A media company that peddles outright lies is not fit to survive.

With nine new cases in Aotearoa New Zealand, the question begs to be asked; where and how are transmissions taking place? We have passed through two cycles of transmission/symptomatic of the virus. How is it being spread?

If, as I suspect, people are breaking their ‘bubbles’, then they should be held to account. They are holding the entire country to ransom.

Current covid19 cases: 1,470

Cases in ICU: 1

Number of deaths: 18

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References

Day 31

Fairfax/Stuff media: Beach lodge offers discount ‘get-away’ accommodation during coronavirus Alert Level 3

RNZ: Covid-19 update 25 April – Five new cases, one death

Day 32

RNZ: NZ’s responses to Covid-19 and polio vastly different

RNZ: Time will tell on Sweden’s relaxed approach to Covid-19

Mediaworks/Newshub: Coronavirus – Six-week-old US baby youngest to die with COVID-19

Mediaworks/Newshub: Siouxsie Wiles claps back at David Seymour’s claim coronavirus risk ‘not as big as it was sold’

NewstalkZB: Siouxsie Wiles on NZ is unlikely to see a coronavirus outbreak

Twitter: @JintyMcGinty35

Twitter: @miscreantinc

RNZ: Covid-19 – Nine more cases, no new deaths

Must Read

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

The Independent: Is Sweden having second thoughts on lockdown?

The Out And Abouter: Reached For Comment, Coronavirus Says It’s Also Very In Favour Of Reopening The Economy Immediately

Elemental: Hold the Line

Other Blogs

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center

Resource

Previous related blogposts

Life in Lock Down: Day 22 – Is that a light at the end of a four week long tunnel?!

Life in Lock Down: Day 27 – and it’s been a shit day

Life in Lock Down: Day 28 – An Open Letter to Prime Minister Ardern

Life in Lock Down: Day 29 & 30

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Acknowledgement: Royston

This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 27 April 2020.

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Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: Covid-19, John Hopkins University, level 4 lock down, Newstalk ZB, sweden

Life in Lock Down: Day 29 & 30

25 April 2020 Frank Macskasy Leave a comment

April 23: Day 29 of living in lock-down…

Three new cases… but two more deaths. It’s a cruel act of Fate that success and good news is tempered with tragedy and death. With each of those deaths, families are left grieving for the loss of someone who has been entwined in their lives.

There are times I wish that those agitating and making shrill demands to re-open the economy, should be made to be in the room with those grieving families. No amount of money and economic growth can make up for the loss of a loved one who we shall never see again, and lives on only in our memories and photographic recordings.

The day starts of as many have in the last four weeks. Drive past the railway station Park N Ride – still three cars in the open expanse of a carpark built for a hundred times that number. (Yesterday there were four cars present.)

On the main road to SH2, the white motorhome is still in place. It’s become a ‘fixture’ my gaze automatically looks for in the first ‘leg’ of my drive to work.

It was a cloudy, mild, autumn day.

On the highway, a Wellington Electricity van; ‘JETS’ van; ‘Phoenix Transport’ van; an unbranded double-tandem truck (unbranded commercial vehicles seem more common than I have ever noticed, previous to the lock-down); ‘Kaibosh’ van; a fully laden ‘PBT’ container truck; ‘Jina’s’ fruit & veg van; a police car; a light truck marked ‘Dandy Candy’ (really ?!); ‘Waste Management’ truck; an unbranded light truck carrying gas cylinders; ‘Placemakers’ ute; ‘Chorus’ ute; ‘Precision’ glazing van; ‘Paint m& Plasterer’ ute; ‘Good Shed’ light truck; ‘L.G. Anderson’ covered truck; ‘Steinlager’ branded covered truck; a firewood truck (company logo not discernible); ‘Gilmours’ truck; ‘Arobake’ van; a fully laden ‘KAM’ container truck; another police car; ‘Coca cola’ branded truck; towtruck wagon carrying a car; ‘Bundaberg beer’ branded SUV; ‘PBT Transport’ truck; ‘Toll’ double tandem truck; ‘Print Link’ truck; ‘Arrow Hygiene’ van; ‘Budget Rental’ covered truck; truck carrying two waste-bins; ‘Commonsense Organics’ van; ‘Enviro waste’ rubbish truck; ‘Dimond’ building ute; ‘Inter Waste’ truck; an unbranded fully laden container truck; an ambulance; a skip bin truck; scaffolding truck; ‘Red Cross’ blood van; ‘Gilmour’s’ truck; ‘Cushman & Wakefield’ real estate services van; a police car; ‘Tip Top’ refrigerated truck…

Traffic on SH2 was light; about half a dozen vehicles around me.

The red ship still lay where it was first spotted;

Definitely under fourteen day quarantine.

Meanwhile, another large freighter berthed near the Interislander wharf, spotted the previous day, was gone. If mandatory quarantine does not apply to that vessel, hopefully it’s a coastal trader, restricted to Aotearoa’s waters.

The road works gang with ‘Wellington Pipelines Ltd’ trucks and digger in attendance, were still digging up the footpath. Still no sign of any social distancing being practiced.

Meanwhile, ‘Z Energy’ has made itself out to be practicising high levels of corporate bastardry by getting rid of unwanted fuel stocks back on to the world market. The reason? To keep local fuel prices high.

So there we have it; Z Energy’s chief executive, Mike Bennetts openly admitting that allowing cheap fuel into Aotearoa would result in “too much fuel that will affect us by way of having to sell“.

Anyone still believing that the rules of the free market apply in any way, shape, or form, is deluded. ACT – the so-called party of the free market – made no comment on this blatant manipulation of fuel prices. (Quite the opposite, in fact. ACT has been calling for more corporate welfare – paid by taxpayers.)

The next time David Seymour or any of his ACT cronies bleats on about “market forces” – point them to this story. Then watch them do “mental gymnastics” to explain how/why such a thing could happen in an open market like ours.

Current covid19 cases: 1,451

Cases in ICU: 1

Number of deaths: 16

April 24: Day 30 of living in lock-down…

Back up to five new cases *AND* another death. With only three more days until we move to Alert Level 3, we better start hoping that contact tracing is working.

The railway station Park N Ride had the same three cars – but there the similarities to previous days, weeks, ended. In my driving to Wellington, and around the city, there was a marked increase in both commercial and non-commercial traffic on the roads. The fact it was a fine, sunny day – more like summer than autumn – also brought a few people out.

Commercial traffic was definitely higher than before. And whereas there there moments on the open highway when my vehicle was the only one present – today there was a constant flow of traffic around me. Still not as heavy as in normal times – but still noticeably heavier than at any time in the last four weeks.

On my way home tonight, again, traffic at around 8pm was the highest I’ve seen it since Level 4 lock-down began at 11.59pm, Wednesday, 25 March.

People are starting to revert to “normality”.

Meanwhile, the roadworks in Vivian Street, downtown Wellington, had ended; as had roadworks at the Miramar ‘cutting’; and new roadworks this afternoon in William Street, Hataitai. I watched the roadworks gang – at no point was social distancing evident. It was business-as-usual.

If the police fail to monitor holiday ‘hot spots’ as they are promising to do this weekend, it will be a free-for-all for people to be on the move. In which case, Professor Shaun Hendy’s prediction of a “re-invasion” by the virus could become a reality.

Back to square one. Or rather, back to Alert Level Four.

Meanwhile there are the usual click-bait headlines highlighting bizarre ideas. Such as Aotearoa prostituting itself to become rich white men’s “bolt hole”. Or billionaire Trump supporter and founder of data-collecting company, Palantir, Peter Thiel, wanting to offer his services to help track covid19.

That’s a ‘Yeah,nah,piss off” to both those suggestions.

And while we’re about it, could someone in this government look to stripping Peter Thiel’s New Zealand citizenship? Mr Thiel bought his citizenship (the price is unclear) in 2011. Millionaire John Key gave Billionaire Peter Thiel citizenship – even though the latter had only briefly visited this country on a few occassions.

There is no clear reason why this gentleman should hold New Zealand citizenship. Aside from his money, maybe.

The one headline I want to see is not “Billionaires flock to New Zealand and buy up North Island” – but rather, “No new covid19 cases today“. I know which is worth more to us.

Current covid19 cases: 1,456

Cases in ICU: 1

Number of deaths: 17

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References

RNZ: Z Energy selling fuel back to world market

ACT: News

ACT: Good call, now set clear rules and support Level 3 losers

RNZ: Covid-19 – What happened in New Zealand on 23 April

RNZ: Covid-19 – Three new cases in NZ, two further deaths reported

RNZ: Covid-19 alert level 3 – What you need to know

Fairfax/Stuff: Coronavirus – Police checkpoints at the ready ahead of Anzac weekend, Covid-19 level 3

RNZ: ‘The possibility of reinvasion of the disease is very strong’ – Shaun Hendy

Fairfax/Stuff: Coronavirus – Rich migrants not solution to New Zealand’s Covid-19 problems, economists say

RNZ: Controversial tech firm Palantir had talks with govt on Covid-19

NZ Herald: Citizen Thiel

RNZ: Covid-19 – Five new cases of Covid-19 in NZ, one further death

Must Read

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

The Independent: Is Sweden having second thoughts on lockdown?

The Out And Abouter: Reached For Comment, Coronavirus Says It’s Also Very In Favour Of Reopening The Economy Immediately

Elemental: Hold the Line

Other Blogs

Previous related blogposts

Life in Lock Down: Day 22 – Is that a light at the end of a four week long tunnel?!

Life in Lock Down: Day 27 – and it’s been a shit day

Life in Lock Down: Day 28 – An Open Letter to Prime Minister Ardern

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Acknowledgement: Slane

This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 25 April 2020.

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Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: Covid-19, level 4 lock down, palantir, Peter Thiel

Life in Lock Down: Day 28 – An Open Letter to Prime Minister Ardern

23 April 2020 Frank Macskasy 4 comments

April 22: Day 28 of living in lock-down…

An Open Letter to Prime Minister Ardern

Kia ora Ms Ardern,

Firstly, let’s set one thing pretty well straight before launching into the point of this letter to you. You, your government colleagues, and hard working civil servants have done an amazing job in navigating us through this crisis. History will remember the strong but compassionate leadership our country has had the great fortune to have.

We could just as well have had the likes of Bolsonaro, Orbán, or Trump leading us.

You have led us through ‘Hurricane Covid19’ nearly flawlessly, considering humanity hasn’t experienced an event like this since the 1918 Influenza pandemic. Nearly flawlessly. There have been ‘stumbles’ along the way. The problem of issuing PPEs is an irritant that refuses to go away.

But perhaps the ‘stumble’ that may yet be the worst is the exemption given to Air New Zealand not to isolate flight crew after they have completed an overseas assignment.

This first came to my attention on 21 April on RNZ’s Checkpoint. The story, in brief;

The airline’s crews who fly internationally continue to be exempt from the strict 14-day quarantine rules for people returning to New Zealand from overseas – with the exception of Los Angeles flights.

On Monday the airline confirmed crew members had been forced to self-isolate after some staff allegedly disregarded physical distancing rules during a layover in Vancouver.

Documents obtained by Checkpoint show increasing unease and fear among flight crew staff about the exemption from isolation or quarantine, and the risk it poses to colleagues and the public.

Air New Zealand is currently operating 16 return international services a week. At the end of May it plans to add three return services a week to Shanghai to that schedule.

To say that I was utterly gobsmacked would be an understatement. I listened to the unfolding story with a growing horror; a rising anger; and a deep disappointment.

Let me explain. For the last four weeks we have been in Level 4 lock-down. This has separated friends and families. Closed non-essential businesses. Curtailed recreational and sporting activities. Borrowed billions to keep our economy afloat and society intact. And thousands have lost their jobs.

The vast majority of New Zealanders heeded your call to stick to our “bubbles”.

You called on us;

“New Zealand, be calm, be kind, stay at home.

We can break the chain.”

You minded us time and again;

“Stay home, save lives.”

And you challenged us;

“… you may not be at work, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a job. Your job is to save lives, and you can do that by staying home, and breaking the chain.”

And the people you cheerfully referred to as “our team of five million” responded;

“Hell yeah, let’s do this!”

And we did. For the most part, people responded and made the sacrifices we knew in our hearts and minds were necessary to save lives.

But it was a battle that was not without many casualities. So many people found themselves suddenly unemployed. Some lost the businesses they had worked long hours to establish. And fourteen of our fellow New Zealanders lost their lives.

We retreated to our homes, venturing out only for food and exercise. Some of us – like myself – carried on working as we were as essential service. Which often meant our “bubble” became necessarily inflated to encompass our colleagues and those we cared for. Some of us were not successful in dodging the viral ‘bullet‘.

But we carried on, because, well, it had to be done.

As the lock-down progressed, there were calls to loosen the restrictions and allow more exemptions. Golfing greens (which was eventually allowed); surfing; hunting; butchers… There was quite a list. Aided and abetted by yammering voices from the National and ACT parties.

Though as any sensible person will tell you, the more businesses and recreational activities are open, the more ‘porous’ the lock-down becomes until it is a lock-down in name only. Cue covid19 to become rampant through the entire country.

Which was something wiser heads in our communities understood with crystal clarity;

“I don’t want the Muslim community to look like [they’re] insensitive, inconsiderate over the Covid-19 issue – that they’re just worried about the meat situation.

That is a picture I don’t want New Zealand to get because there there are people in the Muslim community who are actually worried about saving people’s lives in this state of emergency.

We should go with the available options because there are many people who are missing out on what they like to have. It’s not only the Muslim community who are missing out on halal meat, there are other communities missing out on what they want.” – Usman Afzali, 31 March 2020

Mr Afzali was opposing calls for specialised Halal butchers to be given an exemption to the lock-down. Mr Afzali understood the consequences of permitting endless exemptions. He knew the price that would be demanded by the virus – and it would be a cost met by lives lost.

And I understand that. I really do. I’ve even supported my colleagues in a work situation where management who were not part of our facility’s “bubble” were point-blank denied entry. We have vulnerable clients and non-essential people were barred – no exemptions.

My ‘bubble’ consists of my flatmate; four colleagues (down from six) in our facility, plus our clients. (My flatmate’s ‘bubble’ is tiny, as she hardly knows anyone in the Greater Wellington Region.) My partner, who has her own house, is not part of my ‘bubble’. For four weeks we have not seen each other, except through the ‘Star Trekkian‘ marvel of ‘Zoom‘ technology.

We have taken your call to keep to our “bubbles” with utmost seriousness and urgency. We have not deviated. We have been staunch.

So after reading all that, you can understand, Ms Ardern, how absolutely gutted I felt when I read that Air New Zealand flight crews were returning to our country; disembarking from their aircraft; and… entering our community.

No fourteen week quarantine. Nothing.

When challenged by RNZ, Air New Zealand responded;

“This is expert medical advice for all airlines to follow in New Zealand. If there are general concerns or questions about this advice then that is a matter for the Ministry of Health as they have established these standards.”

So the entire country is asked to go into stringent lock-down and when asked a legitimate question why Air New Zealand flight crews are exempt, we are given that corporate gobbledegook-speak?!

Did anyone send a copy of that particular memo from Air New Zealand to the virus?

An un-named (for damned good reason) Air New Zealand employee reminded us;

“On 19 March, NZ5 arrived at Auckland from LAX on which three passengers tested positive for Covid-19, at least two crew later tested positive. A crew member from that flight, before testing positive, went down to Bluff to attend a wedding, and now we all know about the ‘Bluff cluster’.”

A person died from that ‘cluster’: the groom’s father.

The following day from that initial RNZ story, Air New Zealand disclosed that thirty employees have tested positive for covid19.

And yet you still allow Air New Zealand to be given an exemption?

Tangata whenua going into the bush to shoot food for their whanau is considered a risk to transmission of covid19 – and it’s banned?

Whilst flight crews returning from Los Angeles, Shanghai, and god knows where from – are not exempt?!

Ms Ardern, I struggle to understand the logic to this, I really do. I’ve looked at it from every possible angle and all I can come up with is that Air New Zealand is part-owned by the government, with a massive $900 million bail-out loan extended to the company by Finance Minister Grant Robertson.

I really hope it’s not about saving an asset that the State has high stakes in. I really do. That would seem to be beneath your dignity to be party to such a venal deal.

So my question to you should be fairly obvious by now – or rather, two questions;

(1) Why: does Air New Zealand have the privilege of enjoying an exemption to a fourteen day quarantine when – out of all the businesses in this country – it is the riskiest one that could re-introduce covid19 to our shores? What makes Air New Zealand safer than someone going out shooting in the back-blocks?

(2) Why: have I bothered with my ‘bubble’; securing the facility where I work with vulnerable people; and foregone seeing my partner for nearly an entire month – when Air New Zealand flight crew could, at this very moment, be infected and spreading their contagion in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch?! Why have I bothered?

I really, really hope your reconsider the justifications you offered at your 1pm ‘presser’ today (22 April). I really do.

Because if we manged to eliminate covid19 from our shores, only to have it reappear with new infections brought in by Air New Zealand flight crew – then it’s all been for nothing. Our efforts have been undermined because – and this is critical – no matter how many times we eliminate the virus, it will be reintroduced by flight crews who remain exempt for reasons that are beyond my understanding.

Singapore should be a clear lesson to us that this virus can return if we allow it even the smallest opportunity;

Fears have resurfaced about the ability of coronavirus to surge again after lockdowns are eased, as Singapore confirmed a sharp rise in new infections.

One of the worst-hit countries when the virus first spread from China in January, Singapore’s strict surveillance and quarantine regime helped slow the outbreak, but recent rises in locally transmitted cases have raised fresh concerns. Singapore reported 142 new infections on Wednesday.

When we move to Alert Level 3 I will be seeing my partner again. I’m even tempted to go to the beach, if we’re lucky to have any fine days left.

I’ve done my bit. God knows I have.

But this is beyond me.

Please reconsider Air New Zealand’s exemption. It’s not worth it.

Current covid19 cases: 1,451

Cases in ICU: 2 (0 critical)

Number of deaths: 14

.

References

RNZ: Air NZ silent about Covid-19 cases as staff fears grow over quarantine exemption

RNZ: Air NZ silent about Covid-19 cases as staff fears grow over quarantine exemption (video)

NZ Herald: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – ‘Your job is to save lives, and you can do that by staying home’

BBC: Coronavirus: How New Zealand relied on science and empathy

Newsroom: One third of new Covid-19 cases are health workers

Fairfax/Stuff: Golf clubs could perish if greenkeepers barred from caring for greens

Change.org: Allow Responsible Surfing in New Zealand

RNZ: Covid-19: Whānau relying on hunting for food should have exemption – leaders

Rural News: Pork farmers want butchers to start trading

Fairfax/Stuff: Coronavirus – Community safety trumps access to halal meat, Muslim man says

RNZ: Father of groom in Bluff wedding dies from Covid-19

RNZ: Covid 19: What happened in New Zealand on 22 April

RNZ: Air NZ silent about Covid-19 cases as staff fears grow over quarantine exemption

RNZ: Coronavirus: Government offers $900m loan for Air New Zealand

The Guardian: Singapore coronavirus surge raises fears of post-lockdown breakouts

RNZ: Six new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, one more death

Must Read

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

The Independent: Is Sweden having second thoughts on lockdown?

The Out And Abouter: Reached For Comment, Coronavirus Says It’s Also Very In Favour Of Reopening The Economy Immediately

Elemental: Hold the Line

RNZ: Bubble-bound: Data shows most people obeying rules

Other Blogs

Previous related blogposts

Life in Lock Down: Day 22 – Is that a light at the end of a four week long tunnel?!

Life in Lock Down: Day 27 – and it’s been a shit day

.

Acknowledgement: Rod Emmerson

This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 23 April 2020.

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Categories: Global, Social Issues, The Body Politic Tags: Air New Zealand, Covid-19, exemptions, level 4 lock down

Life in Lock Down: Day 27 – and it’s been a shit day.

22 April 2020 Frank Macskasy 4 comments

April 21: Day 27 of living in lock-down…

The second-best possible news; testing has revealed only five new cases. If this keeps up, we might – might ! – be down to zero by the time we move to Level 3 at 11.59pm on Monday 27 April.

Except… the good news was marred by the death of another person; a 70 year old woman from a rest home in Te Atatu.

Also marred by an asinine response from our benighted Leader of the Opposition, yesterday, which has raised a storm of anger from thousands of New Zealanders.

And marred by a revelation that has raised my anger and left me wondering if I should have bothered with all the precautions and sacrifice that I (and hundreds of thousands of other New Zealanders) have made over the last few weeks…

My usual trip into town yielded my usual observations of commercial vehicles as well as ordinary cars. Traffic seemed sparse; no heavier or lighter than usual. Which is a good sign that people are not taking the planned move to Level 3 as an invitation to leave their lock-down en masse.

In fact, the number of cars at the nearby Park N Ride had dropped from the usual three to two. The wide variety of commercial vehicles, though, ranged from what were clearly essential to more questionable status. Such as the “Directionz” van parked outside a closed McDonalds outlet: “Directionz” deals in commercial signage, traffic signs, and graffiti removal.

The ship spotted in the harbour yesterday was still in position, station-keeping in the same spot;

It may be there for quite a while: they have twelve more days of quarantine.

In town, there was road-works in Vivian Street;

Essential emergency work?

And yet more roadworks in Wellington. This time at The Cutting in Miramar;

Note the photo immediately above. Look to the left of the white truck. Here’s a close-up;

If that’s two metre social distancing in a workplace setting, then obviously I’ve been taught the metric system incorrectly.

This is why I reject calls from the National Party, ACT, and various sundry business lobby groups to allow all retailers to open, and let them practice “safe social distancing” while trading. I call ‘bollocks’ on that. I also share similar reservations that safe social distancing can be managed during a Level 3 lock-down where non-contact business activity and trading will be permitted.

So far I see precious little “safe social distancing” even in the limited activities that are publicly visible. (See also busy aisles at Kilbirnie Pak N Save here: Life in Lock Down: Day 23)

Then there was this from Opposition Leader Simon Bridges on his Facebook page;

Take these two sentences;

“The public has done a great job of self-isolating and social distancing. The entire country has made huge sacrifices to ensure the four week lockdown was effective.

Unfortunately the Government hasn’t done enough and isn’t ready by its own standards and rhetoric.”

When Transport Agency data shows road traffic down between 73 and 82% from a year ago, that’s a fairly strong indication that the over-whelming majority of New Zealanders are doing the right thing. It suggests they trust this government and the leadership to be implementing policies that will, in the long run, save lives.

The fact that new cases have been trending downward for the last two weeks, until we now stand at only five is a clear sign we are going in the right direction.

PM Ardern and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield have been in our living rooms for the last four weeks, almost night after night, and most New Zealanders have grown to trust them as a steady pair of hands.

So when Simon Bridges attacks the government and the leadership of the immensely popular Prime Minister and highly respected Dr Bloomfield, then he is basically “giving the finger” to the entire country.

Which is why around 82% of the stats to his post are in some way negative;

The responses were ferocious in condemnation.

The country has been in lock-down for nearly four weeks. Our lives have been disrupted. Thirteen people have died (with one in Peru). Thousand have lost their jobs. Four weeks lock-down was an impromptu “holiday” – like being stuck in your hotel room while a tropical storm lashes your area for the entire time of your stay. Not much fun.

People are cranky. They are pissed off at those who flout the rules so they can have a good time while the rest of us tow-the-line. We want normalcy. We want to walk into a supermarket and not have to keep two sodding metres away from everyone – just in case.

So for Mr Bridges to lob his on-line “grenade” at the government was not just an attack on said government and Ministry officials – but also a snide dig at all of us. Despite stating “New Zealanders can be proud of the sacrifices they have made during this difficult time“, he was effectively dismissing those sacrifices as utterly meaningless.

Simon Bridges not only failed to “read the room” – he was in the wrong bloody building!

The more comments he makes along the lines of his Facebook post yesterday (21 April), the more entrenched will be the public view of him as someone not fit to lead us in time of crisis.

And then, this evening on RNZ Checkpoint, came revelations that Air New Zealand air crew were returning from overseas flights – and not quarantining on arrival – despite several staff having been infected by covid19;

Air New Zealand is keeping secret the number of its staff infected with Covid-19 amid allegations it is not doing enough to keep its workers safe.

On Monday the airline confirmed crew members had been forced to self-isolate after some staff allegedly disregarded physical distancing rules during a layover in Vancouver.

Documents obtained by Checkpoint show increasing unease and fear among flight crew staff about the exemption from isolation or quarantine, and the risk it poses to colleagues and the public.

Air New Zealand is currently operating 16 return international services a week. At the end of May it plans to add three return services a week to Shanghai to that schedule.

For more than a week, Checkpoint has repeatedly asked Air New Zealand, the Ministry of Health and the Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield for the number of Air NZ staff who have tested positive for Covid-19.

[…]

New Zealand’s biggest Covid-19 coronavirus cluster is the Bluff wedding, where the virus has spread to nearly 100 people and killed two, including the groom’s father.

The cluster has been officially linked to overseas travel. An Air NZ flight attendant who had just returned from the United States and had already been exposed to Covid-19 was at the wedding reception.

Four days before that, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced compulsory 14-day self-isolation for anyone arriving in New Zealand from anywhere in the world, excluding the Pacific.

Despite the clampdown, Air NZ crew remained exempt at the time and have largely maintained that exemption throughout the pandemic.

On Monday 20 April, Air NZ’s Shareholding Minister Grant Robertson told Checkpoint it was his understanding the exemption had continued.

That is despite employees repeatedly raising concerns that the lack of isolation for returning crews was endangering them and other people, Checkpoint has learned.

A letter sent to Air NZ management earlier in April starkly laid out the issue:

“An Air New Zealand flight arrived at Auckland from which three passengers tested positive for Covid-19. One in each class throughout the aircraft. Four crew later tested positive.

“Another crew member from that same flight, before testing positive, attended meetings, then embarked on a four-night tour of duty.

“One of those meetings was attended by yourself. If the 14-day separation rule was in place, that crew member would have remained in self-isolation at home and would not have placed other members of the community or colleagues at risk of Covid-19.”

Ministry of Health guidelines exempt aircrew from 14-day stand downs between different flights as long as they appear healthy, but the same letter noted these protocols are minimum guidelines.

Note the part where it says “as long as they appear healthy“.

From the Ministry of Health’s own website;

“Symptoms take up to 14 days to show after a person has been infected. A person can pass on the virus to others before they know they have it – from up to two days before symptoms develop.”

I was dumbfounded when I heard the story. (Audio version here.) Dumbfounded and furious.

For the last four weeks my partner and I have studiously observed the lock-down rules. We have kept separate “bubbles” (we do not live in the same houses). We keep grocery shopping to a minimum , observing the 2 metre distancing rule. We don’t go to the beach. We stay home. And when I go to work, I go directly to the facilities I work at; do my job; then come home.

But according to Air New Zealand, they permit their staff to work overseas and then return to this country and wander around freely. Dozens of their air crew staff are walking around our major cities. If any carry the contagion, they will be oblivious to it.

Some have already been stricken by the virus.

But Air New Zealand won’t tell us.

We could get the daily rate of new cases down to zero by Friday – only to have new infection clusters blow up at any time because an Air New Zealand crew member brought it back into our country.

Remember: “A person can pass on the virus to others before they know they have it – from up to two days before symptoms develop.”

Shareholding Minister Grant Robertson must act on this.

We need to know how many Air New Zealand staff have had the virus.
We need to have this practice of non-quarantining cease immediately.
And the CEO of Air New Zealand might as well take the next flight out of this country and not come back.

Once again, Air New Zealand has screwed us over. As if the Erebus disaster and subsequent cover-up hadn’t been enough of a stain on their reputation.

God help us, was Simon Bridges right?

“Unfortunately the Government hasn’t done enough and isn’t ready by its own standards and rhetoric”

Minister Robertson cannot ignore this shambles. It is putting us all at risk.

We’ve already had one death from a transmission by an Air New Zealand staffer.

Current covid19 cases: 1,445

Cases in ICU: 3 (0 critical)

Number of deaths: 13

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References

Facebook: Simon Bridges – 20.4.20

RNZ: Air NZ silent about Covid-19 cases as staff fears grow over quarantine exemption

Ministry of Health: Covid-19 (novel coronavirus) – health advice for the general public

RNZ: Air NZ silent about Covid-19 cases as staff fears grow over quarantine exemption (audio)

RNZ: Covid-19 – What happened in New Zealand on 21 April

Must Read

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

The Independent: Is Sweden having second thoughts on lockdown?

The Out And Abouter: Reached For Comment, Coronavirus Says It’s Also Very In Favour Of Reopening The Economy Immediately

Elemental: Hold the Line

Other Blogs

The Daily Blog: Simon Bridges horrifically misreads the mood of the Nation – he may as well urinate on an ANZAC grave

The Standard: When Bridges’ social media goes wrong

Previous related blogposts

Life in Lock Down: Day 22 – Is that a light at the end of a four week long tunnel?!

Life in Lock Down: Day 26

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Acknowledgement: Jim Hubbard

This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 22 April 2020.

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Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: Air New Zealand, Covid-19, level 4 lock down, Mt Erebus disaster, Simon Bridges

Life in Lock Down: Day 26

21 April 2020 Frank Macskasy 1 comment

April 20: Day 26 of living in lock-down…

Another day of to work. As usual. I’m observant of lock-down life around me. The sparse traffic; people’s movements; how close they are to each other. It’s a mix of curious interest and heightened caution…

The Park N Rise still has three cars parked. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re the same three cars that have been there the last twentysix days. The white motorhome still parked where it was left two days ago.

Traffic on the highway in to Wellington was not much different than past few weeks; light in the Hutt Valley and sparser closer in to the city.

One unusual sight that caught my attention; a cargo ship had arrived in Wellington harbour;

It was unusual because I had not seen any seagoing vessels entering or leaving the harbour since lock-down – so this new arrival was immediately an object of curiosity. The ship was stationary (anchor dropped?) and not heading for a berth.

Could it be that it was an unwelcome visitor with a crew that might or might not be carrying contagion?

It is a long time in Western history that a ship has been denied permission to berth because it could harbour disease. If the crew are expected to quarantine aboard their vessel for two solid weeks, it will not be a comfortable experience for them. No walking around their neighbourhood to exercise for them!

At 11PM on RNZ, the Nine to Noon Political Panel featured Neale Jones and Trish Sherson. Former ACT press secretary, Ms Sherson, made the readily-obvious observation;

“…This election is going to be one of the most […] I describe it as emotional that we have had for so many decades.

Because for decades we’ve had government moving out of New Zealander’s lives. Now we’ve had a rapid rush back in and so it’s going to be very intreresting to see how that plays out.”

If anything has shown the true bankrupt nature of the free market/minimalist government ideology – it is when an outside threat to the human race demands a collective response. The Chicago School of Economics has been humbled not by the progressive Left – but by something we cannot even see. It has taken a virus – a microscopic thing barely alive – to remind us of our true human nature that to survive, we must work together for the common good.

Neo-liberalism just caught a virus – and it may not survive.

This afternoon, we had the regular announcement from the Beehive: nine new cases. Same as yesterday. No new ‘clusters’ of infection. And mercifully, no new deaths.

Dare we hope that we may have turned the tide against our viral enemy?

The 4pm announcement from the Beehive delivered a ‘verdict’ from the Prime Minister;

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the level 4 lockdown will be extended by a further five days to 11.59pm on Monday 27 April.

“We have done what very few countries have been able to do, we have stopped the wave of devastation. Our transmission rate is now 0.48, overseas the average is 2.5 people,” Ardern said.

Changing alert levels region by region in future has not been ruled out, but for now, the country will need to stick together.

The education, construction, manufacturing and forestry sectors will be able to return to work next week when alert level 3 kicks in.

The basic principle of alert level 3 will again be to restrict contact with others, requiring people to remain at home in their bubble as much as possible.

In truth, she could not have made any other decision. We still need time to contain the virus so it is under control. Perhaps even eliminated from every part of our land. The extra five days not only gives us much-needed time – but it effectively includes the ANZAC Weekend in the Level 4 lock-down.

By keeping ANZAC Weekend under Level 4 instead of Level 3, there can be no ambiguity; no “grey areas”; no loop holes that will allow a small minority the chance to give the rest of us the One Fingered Salute.

I have no doubt the police will be out in force this weekend. There will likely be arrests and prosecutions of those selfish idiots who cannot be reasoned with to do the right thing for the greater good.

The extra time will also send a clear signal to businesses to start planning on re-opening – albeit for non-contact trading. No one in the business sector can claim they don’t know what’s going on. The PM has given the clearest possible message: start planning.

Personally, the prospect of not being able to see my partner (in person, not through the technological miracle of the Internet) is not something that fills me with joy.

But it has to be done. If we can’t submerge our own interests for the greater good, then the virus will be victorious.

The rest of my work day is subdued. My clients understand what our Prime Minister has delivered to us. The lock-down of the facility will be lifted any time soon. Movement in and out will continue to be restricted. Their lives may depend on it.

At 8PM, I’m on the motorway on my way home. As usual, there are few cars around me. One or two trucks. A police car whizzing past. Out in the harbour, the lights of the ship that arrived earlier today can be seen; it looks like a floating Wellington office-block, lit up with bright lights.

It may be there for a while yet.

Further along the motorway, I pass an ambulance, also heading north.

At Lower Hutt’s Melling Interchange, there are four more ambulances – heading south this time – and an ambulance/patient transfer SUV.

Six ambulances in one night.

New Zealand is so damned lucky and we are totally oblivious to our good fortune.

Had it not been for this government’s quick action in closing our borders on 19 March, those ambulances could have been hearses.

Postscript

A Twitter poll initiated two days ago has yielded some interesting results. Agreed that such polls are not very accurate as they reflect more the beliefs of my “echo chamber”, but still nearly 79% want the lock-down extended (as at 10.50PM, 20 April) and a further number – around 9% – believe we should go with recommendations from scientists and medical professionals;

Current covid19 cases: 1,440

Cases in ICU: 3 (2 critical)

Number of deaths: 12

.

References

RNZ: Nine to Noon Political Panel commentators Jones & Sherson – 20.4.20

RNZ: NZ to close its borders to anyone not a citizen or permanent resident, PM confirms

Twitter: @fmacskasy – L4 lockdown poll – 20.4.20

RNZ: Covid-19 – What happened in New Zealand on 20 April

Must Read

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

The Independent: Is Sweden having second thoughts on lockdown?

The Out And Abouter: Reached For Comment, Coronavirus Says It’s Also Very In Favour Of Reopening The Economy Immediately

Elemental: Hold the Line

Other Blogs

Previous related blogposts

Life in Lock Down: Day 22 – Is that a light at the end of a four week long tunnel?!

RNZ: Covid-19 – 13 new cases reported on Saturday

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Acknowledgement: Jim Hubbard

This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 21 April 2020.

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Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: Alert Level 3, borders, Covid-19, hearses, Jacinda Ardern, level 4 lock down

Life in Lock Down: Day 24 & 25

20 April 2020 Frank Macskasy 1 comment

April 18: Day 24 of living in lock-down…

It’s a Saturday afternoon and I’m pulling another covering shift in the weekend. (Covering for a colleague whose presence at the facility has been deemed to be too high-risk.) The Park N Ride has one car, evidence that those using it are (hopefully) solely essential workers.

… and the white motorhome is back in it’s parked position. This time facing the other way;

On the motorway, commercial traffic was sparse, but comprised (in part); a “Chemdry” van; “Fulton Hogan” roadworks truck, with yellow hazard strobe-lights flashing; ambulance; “ACM” Security van; “Mainfreight” truck; a fully-laden light gravel-truck; some other commercial vehicles with indeterminate company signage…

Traffic on SH2 was either the same or even marginally heavier than during the working-week. At the Melling interchange, there were about a dozen cars in sight. Hopefully this was not an indication of more people beginning to ignore the Stay Home, Stay Local edict. By the time I drove past Aotea Quay, traffic was once again sparse.

It was a reasonably fine Autumn day and there were quite a few people out and about walking the city streets, enjoying the fine weather.

At 1pm, the usual government media conference is replaced with a press release. New cases are still trending downward: 13 this time. No new deaths, which is a blessing But still two people in intensive care – not so good.

At Kilbirnie, at 2.25pm, this fellow was sighted in his campervan, driving from the shopping area; along Cobham Drive; and then turning off at Shelley Bay;

If community transmission of the contagion continues to spread because some folk refuse to understand the niceties of Level 4 Lock Down, it could be people like the above campervan driver we’ll be ‘thanking’. Especially if we have to keep businesses closed and stay home longer.

A note was duly sent of to 105.police.govt.nz.

Meanwhile, the last few days of lock-down have been increasingly rough for my flatmate. She’s not an essential worker so doesn’t share my privilege of having a legitimate excuse for being out and about. She makes hand-made items she sells at street markets – but those have closed for The Duration. She has no family in the Greater Wellington region – they’re all up north in Rotorua.

Except for me she is totally alone (and I’m out of the house about twelve to fourteen hours each day).

She has respected the Lockdown and her mental health is not the best for it. No doubt there are many others like her around the country. (Since then her situation has been resolved with Ministry of Health intervention.)

So when I see people flouting Lock Down for their own selfish pleasure, it’s annoys the bejeezus out of me.

April 18: Day 24

Current covid19 cases: 1,422

Cases in ICU: 3 (2 critical)

Number of deaths: 11

April 19: Day 25 of living in lock-down…

My day off. Had intended to have a good sleep-in… but forgot to turn off my radio-clock. *Doh!*

Did some house work, laundry. Re-potted an avocado plant I’d grown from the stone-seed. Picked up feijoas blown off my tree by the Autumn equinox gales. Went for a walk around my block.

Skyped my partner this morning. I had downloaded “Zoom” last night and used it instead of “Skype”. Whilst the image is better than Skype, Zoom is not that user-friendly and is not very clear how to invite and initiate a video call. After a bit of faffing about we managed to make contact and had a good, long chat. We talked about her workplace and how dropping to Level 3-plus would affect her staff.

A lot of small talk. Some good natured ribbing. I hold my cat up so she can say ‘meow’ to my partner.

It’s good to see her face, her smile, and hear her voice.

One of my Facebook contacts sends me a link to an opinion piece by right wing commentator, Damien Grant. Mr Grant shares us his ill-informed “reckons” about Director General of Health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield. Headed;

Coronavirus: Ashley Bloomfield must step out of the Prime Minister’s shadow

— it‘s the usual idiocy from ill-formed rightwingers with a lot to say but precious little information, observations, or insights to offer. He makes the incredibly asinine assertion;

“Dr Bloomfield needs to assert his authority. He needs to step out of the Prime Minister’s shadow and remind the nation that these decisions are his and his alone.”

Which any school student will know is arrant rubbish.

Dr Bloomfield – whilst a very talented and highly respected professional – is a civil servant. He has responsibilities within the Ministry of Health.

But decision-making is the prerogative of Cabinet and the Prime Minister. They are our elected representatives. And whilst they take advice from good people like Dr Bloomfield, ultimately the decision-making rests with politicians. (That’s the way our system has worked since the Year Dot.)

Either Damien Grant has been badly informed on this subject or he is wilfully mischief-making for his National Party masters. Take your pick which.

Later, the PM and Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield hold their 1pm ‘presser’. The good news continues to hold: only nine new cases. Back to single figures! Hold my breath for the coming announcement of any new fatalities… none. (Though a death from last week has been re-designated covid19 related, taking our toll up to twelve.)

The PM announces that a decision will be made tomorrow at 4pm whether or not the Lock-down level will move at Wednesday mid-night from 4 to 3-plus. Personally, I would accept an extra week on L4. It means less “grey” areas of what people can do. And less inadvertent transmission by rule breakers.

Like this guy from 28 March (Day 3);

— remember him? Dropped off two boys and then drove off.

Well, he was back again this afternoon. Dropped off the same two boys. Then left after five minutes. But in a different vehicle this time, minus his company branding;

So the rules obviously don’t apply to some people? That’s a problematic lesson he’s teaching his young lads.

If we beat covid19, it will be in spite of people like that and the campervan driver yesterday. No thanks to them.

Meanwhile, I received an email from my employers. There was an attachment instructing optimal use for PPE gear; face masks, latex gloves, smocks…

I replied,

“We’re getting PPEs? Cool!

When?”

Somehow, I don’t think I’ll be flavour of the month.

Tonight, I’m going to forget about covid19, the pandemic, lock-down, etc.

I’m going to go “retro” and watch the 1972 Arthur Jacobs movie, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. It’s about the world in the “future” in 1991. Apes have been brought into human households and ‘domesticated’ after all cats and dogs were wiped out by a pandemic plague…

Oh.

Bugger.

April 19: Day 25

Current covid19 cases: 1,431

Cases in ICU: 3 (2 critical)

Number of deaths: 12

Postscript

A light-hearted moment as a dozy right-wing American conspiracy theorist thoroughly demolishes his own conviction that “covid19 is a lie” – by wearing mask, goggles, and full hazmat coveralls.

“B” for effort.

“F” for execution.

“A+” for LOLs.

(But still imminently suited to be next President of the United States.)

Meanwhile, back to Reality. Remember folks;

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References

RNZ: Nine new Covid-19 cases – Community transmission key to lockdown decision

Must Read

NewstalkZB: Heather du Plessis-Allan – This is a lockdown, not a holiday

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

The Independent: Is Sweden having second thoughts on lockdown?

The Out And Abouter: Reached For Comment, Coronavirus Says It’s Also Very In Favour Of Reopening The Economy Immediately

Elemental: Hold the Line

Other Blogs

Previous related blogposts

Life in Lock Down: Day 22 – Is that a light at the end of a four week long tunnel?!

RNZ: UK lockdown extended while Japan declares national emergency

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Acknowledgement: Sharon Murdoch

This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 20 April 2020.

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Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Covid-19, Damien Grant, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, Jacinda Ardern, level 4 lock down

Life in Lock Down: Day 23

18 April 2020 Frank Macskasy 3 comments

April 17: Day 23 of living in lock-down…

It’s a gray, cool, overcast Autumn day. Dead leaves are starting to cover my paths and lawns. Pretty much another ordinary Autumn day, like so many through my years, and years to come. Except it’s anything but ordinary as humanity experiences an event that will be a marker for the early part of the 21st Century.

It’s another work day. Same routine; drive past the Park N Ride; two cars. Along the main road to SH2 – and what do I see…?

A few days ago;

This afternoon;

One missing motorhome. Obviously the owner didn’t get the memo that it’s not Alert Level 2 just yet. It’ll be interesting to see if it’s back tonight, on my way home.

On the motorway, traffic seems marginally busier than last week. Of course, it’s a subjective assessment based on observation, memory, and a bit of guesswork. Sighted; police car parked up on the side of the highway; Fulton Hogan roadworks truck; “ZAP” pest control van; “New World” heavy truck; “Toll” heavy truck and a “Toll” medium sized truck; a bin-hire truck with a skip-bin; a “Geeves” scaffolding truck; “Al’s Litta bins” flat deck truck; “Budget” rental light truck; “Precision” glazing van; “Packaging Products” truck; “Ministry of Plumbing” plumbers van; “Morepork” gravel-hauling truck; 2 “L.G. Anderson” container trucks; a gravel-hauling truck towing a small front-end loader; “Low Cost Bins” ute; “Beaurepairs” truck; an empty flat deck hi-ab truck; patient transfer ambulance SUV; “Downer” ute; “Westward” truck hauling various building materials; “Linfox” fuel tanker; “Central Group” forklifts and trucks branded truck; “Laser Plumbing” van; “Canon Hygiene” van; “Countdown” food delivery van; “MGI” van; “TIMG” van; “Allied Security” car; “ATMS” road works truck in Vivian Street, outside of Terrace Tunnel; “Spotless Catering” van; 2 police cars in Vivian Street; 2 “Cory’s” utes; Salvation Army Family Store truck; “ATMS” road works truck in Mt Victoria Tunnel; “Toll” truck in tunnel, “Owens” truck…

Traffic did seem a little heavier than previous weeks. Especially travelling through the Mt Vic tunnel, activity is on the increase, without doubt.

As I drove along Vivian Street headed toward the Eastern Subsurbs, I noticed how overgrown the green park was in front of the School of Architecture and Design building was starting to become. As in most post-apocalypse movies, urban scapes are soon reclaimed by nature’s relentless growth;

Not quite the scene from the 2007 movie, I Am Legend…

— but given enough time…

This afternoon, more good news mixed with tragedy. New cases are the lowest since mid-March: eight. If this is accurate; if there are no asymptomatic cases floating around the country; and if the downward trend continues, Aotearoa New Zealand will have achieved what no other nation has: eliminating the virus from our borders.

This puts foolish, harping critics like National’s Paul Goldsmith and ACT’s David Seymour in their proper place; as whining ‘Cassandras’ who are hell-bent on putting this country on a collision course with a virus outbreak along the lines of Italy, Spain, UK, USA, et al.

David Seymour made the astounding suggestion that Australia was achieving “better results” than Aotearoa;

“Australia appears to be having its cake and eating it too, as it gets achieves better COVID-19 health outcomes than New Zealand with fewer restrictions on economic activity.”

Even the Mediaworks-Newshub article was misleading in its headline;

MPs question New Zealand’s COVID-19 lockdown as Australia’s lighter approach produces similar results

Misleading because it is not true. Australia has five times our population, but seven times our covid19 death toll;

On 16 April, Australia had 6,447 cases of covid19. As of 17 April, a day later, the figure had jumped to 6,523.

Australia’s death is also rising. On 16 April it stood at 63. As of today (18 April) covid19 has claimed 65 victims.

Yesterday, as our government was announcing plans to reduce our Alert Level from 4 to 3, Australia was announcing it was extending its lock-down by another four weeks. The UK was extending its lockdown by three weeks whilst Japan had declared a national state of emergency.

Mediaworks-Newshub reported;

National MP Paul Goldsmith is now questioning New Zealand’s approach, pointing out that the two nations have had similar results per capita.

Again, not true. The above infographic shows Australia’s death toll worse than Aotearoa’s. Mr Goldsmith is either ignorant of the facts; being mischievous for National’s political agenda, or is trying to use sheer will-power to magic-up his own version of reality.

Meanwhile, David Seymour continues to tout on behalf of business interests, picking away at lock-down-mandated closure of most retailers;

“It is not clear why a dairy with a one-in one-out policy can open, but other types of retail cannot and that will be damaging and in some cases devastating for those businesses for no clear public health gain.”

He says it’s “not clear”?!

Well, let me make it abundantly clear for Mr Goldsmith and Mr Seymour in simple, easy-to-comprehend terms;

“Germy bad. Make people sick. Germy make people die. Not good. People sad. Put people in ground. Other people cry.”

And here is a pretty crayon picture for Little David and Little Paul;

There is very good reasoning behind the lock-down. The more people are out, the greater the risk of transmission. Spain, UK, Italy, and New York City have demonstrated with great clarity how transmission of this virus can explode out of control.

More retailers open means more people moving about in retail areas. The more people there are, the closer they get to each other. Social distancing is impossible when limited areas become crowded. (I have witnessed this on fine, sunny days around Oriental Bay when people flock to the wide footpaths to stroll, jog, and ride bikes. Social distancing quickly becomes unrealistic. And some just don’t care.)

Even supermarket’s can become become congested, as I discovered this afternoon (17 April) when shopping for groceries for an immuno-suppressed client.

This was the scene at the Kilbirnie Pak N Save Meats Section this afternoon at 2.30pm. No social distancing whatsoever;

Worst still, this was the scene in just one aisle at Kilbirnie Pak N Save;

Any notion of a 2 metre distancing (or even 1 metre!) became utterly unrealistic as clusters of people crowded the aisles. If one person in those aisles was carrying covid19 and coughed or sneezed, it is likely several dozen shoppers would likely have been infected.

Ironically, there were staff at all entrances to the supermarket “controlling” entry. Yet, the aisles were crowded.

If Mr Goldsmith and Mr Seymour get their way, scenes like above will be repeated throughout the country, in every city, and every popular retailer. We cannot – must not – permit agenda-driven fools like Mr Goldsmith and Mr Seymour to have any influence with the government.

Or people will get sick.

And people will die.

Current covid19 cases: 1,409

Cases in ICU: 3 (2 critical)

Number of deaths: 11

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References

Mediaworks/Newshub: MPs question New Zealand’s COVID-19 lockdown as Australia’s lighter approach produces similar results

ABC: Charting the COVID-19 spread in Australia

Sky News: Australia in lockdown for another four weeks – PM

RNZ: Act Party leader David Seymour gives govt dressing down over retail sector restrictions

RNZ: Covid-19 – Coronavirus developments in New Zealand on 17 April

Must Read

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

The Independent: Is Sweden having second thoughts on lockdown?

The Out And Abouter: Reached For Comment, Coronavirus Says It’s Also Very In Favour Of Reopening The Economy Immediately

Elemental: Hold the Line

Other Blogs

Previous related blogposts

Life in Lock Down: Day 22 – Is that a light at the end of a four week long tunnel?!

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Acknowledgement: Steve Ditko (?)

This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 18 April 2020.

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Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: Covid-19, David Seymour, level 4 lock down, Pak N Save, Paul Goldsmith

Life in Lock Down: Day 22 – Is that a light at the end of a four week long tunnel?!

17 April 2020 Frank Macskasy 2 comments

April 16: Day 22 of living in lock-down…

Fifteen new cases reported today, definitely a downward trend. Best of all, no further deaths. Our government and our Prime Minister are on the right track.

Meanwhile, Barry Soper has joined a small, select group of foolish people (predominantly middle aged, privileged white men) who continue to belittle the government’s efforts – and considerable success – to contain and eliminate covid19. I won’t link to his Herald article. But suffice it to say he has joined a tiny, irrelevant-but-noisy clique of ‘cup-a-soup’ instant-experts who whinge that our success at containing the virus indicates our leaders “went to far”.

It indicates no such thing.

It demonstrates that our leaders did what they were supposed to. Unlike the Orange Moron who squats in the White House’s Oval Office, who rails against others; blaming them for the disaster over-taking the United States, and refusing to accept responsibility for his gross ineptitude.

These armchair experts point to Australia and Sweden as models we should have copied.

Let’s look at Australia and Sweden, and compare to Aotearoa New Zealand;

Australia’s population is five times ours – but their death rate is seven times higher.

Sweden, which opted for no lock-down (and may now be regretting it) has a population a little over twice ours – but their covid19 death toll is a staggering 134 times ours.

Which underscores the craziness of critics with agendas and armchair “experts” who claim Aotearoa New Zealand “over-reacted”. This graph – whilst not 100% scientific, is still a bloody accurate illustration of wilful human absurdity;

Acknowledgement: @gdinwiddie

Whatever garbage Barry Soper, Mike Hosking, Gareth Morgan, Simon Bridges, “Dr” Simon Thornley, et al, are peddling does not gel with the reality that our death rate is inarguably lower than Australia’s or Sweden’s.

In an exercise of bizarre reverse-logic, they have confused our success rate with the notion that we “over reacted”. Without doubt our low death rate is a result of considered measures based on sound science and mathematics.

If our lower death rate is a “failure”, I look forward to celebrating a “failure” rate of zero new infections and zero deaths.

New Zealanders can count themselves fortunate we have the steady leadership of Prime Minister Ardern to guide us through this crisis.

Now imagine if Barry Soper, Mike Hosking, Gareth Morgan, Simon Bridges, and “Dr” Simon Thornley were in charge. No, I don’t want to either.

No details of any travel around the Hutt Valley and Wellington – today was a sick day spent at home.

But I did get the opportunity to watch Prime Minister Ardern’s 1pm public address this afternoon. Then RNZ’s Checkpoint. Unfortunately, what followed next were the usual gormless questions and whining; “Why can’t I go hunting if they can go swimming? Why can’t I leave my bubble to go live in my other home? Can I hug my mum? Why can’t my [insert business here] open?Why can’t I XYZ?”

Up till now I never realised just how childishly whiney some supposed adults can be. Even teenagers would roll their eyes in exasperation. A zombie apocalypse starts to look like a refreshing, welcome change.

Personally, I doubt if we should be faffing around with jumping from Level to Level. For one thing it breeds confusion. The gormless questions read out by Lisa Owen on Checkpoint is plenty of proof of that. Secondly, it is hard to enforce. Level Four was more back and white. Level Three-Plus has a wide-ranging gray area.

We should stick to Level Four and drive this damnable virus to extinction (hey, it’s us or It!); and then come off the Level System entirely. That would provide more certainty. And drive Hosking, Soper, Bridges, Seymour, Thornley, et al, into fits of apoplexy. (Payback for having to hear/listen to their ignorant witterings over the last three weeks.)

Let’s hope our esteemed PM and her team know what they’re doing.

After which we can look at re-building what’s left of the economy; holding a Commission of Inquiry (not for blame-gaming but to see how we can do better next time); and reform welfare and/or implement a UBI. We had to do too much ad hoc tinkering to the welfare system as it groaned under the burden of thousands losing their jobs.

Though on the positive side, a whole bunch of middle class folk suddenly discovered that welfare was not the “luxury lifestyle” many right-wing pundits and polis have lied about.

The other issue for a Commission is to look at how well prepared our health sector was. I believe we got through this not by studious pandemic-planning by Higher-Ups, but by the sheer guts and initiative shown by health workers on the ground. And while we’re about it, let’s look into DHBs. Some of their behaviour needs scrutiny.

All too early, as yet, but after the crisis is over there will remain much work to do.

Postscript:

Also agitating to open up our economy; this character. I’m guessing a bit of self-interest involved?!

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Current covid19 cases: 1,401

Cases in ICU: 3 (2 critical)

Number of deaths: 9

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References

The Independent: Is Sweden having second thoughts on lockdown?

RNZ: Fifteen new cases of Covid-19 in NZ, no further deaths

Must Read

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

The Independent: Is Sweden having second thoughts on lockdown?

The Out And Abouter: Reached For Comment, Coronavirus Says It’s Also Very In Favour Of Reopening The Economy Immediately

Elemental: Hold the Line

Other Blogs

Previous related blogposts

RNZ: National Party leader Simon Bridges calls for work to restart ‘safely’ after lockdown

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Acknowledgement: Rod Emmerson

This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 17 April 2020.

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Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: australia, Covid-19, level 4 lock down, sweden

Life in Lock Down: Day 21

16 April 2020 Frank Macskasy Leave a comment

April 15: Day 21 of living in lock-down…

Washing machine hose replaced, I can get through a week’s worth of laundry. Washed, hung out to dry. Though our world has been turned on it’s axis to a strange new reality, the mundane things in life (mostly) carry on. Dirty laundry waits for no virus.

Listened to to National Party Leader Simon Bridges this morning on RNZ’s Morning Report.

Firstly, Mr Bridges: for the love of Thor, please stop thrashing the word “agile”.

Secondly, his “mixed messages” of re-opening business “next week” and “and safely letting more business and workers get back onto it” should ring alarm bells in us all.

Without much doubt, he was representing, and speaking for, business interests:

“When we think about the health effect of staying in lockdown, I’m coming to a pretty clear view … that we should come out of lockdown next week and we should be working to safely to get businesses and workers back.

I do want to get to (alert level) 2 … we are trying to get that business and work back, but … I am realistic. I am not suggesting suddenly that we are going to be at 2 overnight. I do say though that we should be agile and trying to get there.

I’d say when the Cabinet makes the decision next week, I’d opt for coming out and safely letting more business and workers get back onto it because the consequences of not doing it are so harmful.”

The social and health consequences of rampant unemployment are intolerable.”

Mr Bridges pointed to the Australian experience with covid19 as some sort of model to follow;

“I do look at that Australian experience where baristas are still making coffee and builders are still building and they’re getting the same sort of health outcomes as us…”

When Corin Dann pointed out their death rate was highter, Mr Bridges dismissed the figures;

“Well, yes, look, you can make your comparisons… and, and, and, actually, you go, um, um, total numbers are very similar, fatalities I would argue are similar…”

No, Mr Bridges, you cannot “argue” with numbers. Numbers are numbers. “Six” is similar to “seven” only in that one follows the other. “Nine” is likewise not even remotely similar to “sixtyone” – they aren’t even close.

“Nine” is the number of deaths announced yesterday (14 April) in New Zealand.

“Sixtyone” is the latest number of deaths in Australia.

To put these numbers in context:

Despite Australia being five times our population, their reported death rate is seven times ours.

Is that the country we should be emulating? One would have thought it would be the other way around. I know New Zealanders have a self-deprecating, cringe-culture thing going on, but looking at another country with a higher mortality rate than ours is taking that to a whole new lethal level.

We should be proud of what we have achieved. Not look overseas to model on a situation that has a higher death rate than ours. (Well, not unless Mr Bridges has a secret agenda to thin the population by knocking of Granny, Grandad, all the diabetics, immuno-compromised, and probably a few of the healthy ones and young’uns. Then it all makes perfect sense.)

I have mulled over Simon Bridges’ comments and his past utterances. He claims to be “tough” on covid19 by demanding more stringent border controls;

“Today’s move to limit mass gatherings was a positive step forward from the Government and I urge it to now go further and close our borders. The EU has closed its borders but it was too late to stop widespread community outbreak. We can’t make the same mistake. We are a small isolated nation and we should take advantage of our geographical position.”

Except… Closing our borders is a fait accompli. There is almost no more international air travel except for military and mercy-flights. Tourism has collapsed. Governments, businesses, NGOs, non-profit organisations, etc, no longer send their people to conferences. Families remain separated.

The skies are all but empty. (Stand in Miramar, Strathmore, or Kilbirnie in Wellington in the evening. Hear anything? No, neither did I tonight. It was an eerie total silence not heard since the airport was built in Wellington.)

There is no one to stop at our borders because (with the except of mercy flights) no one is coming. So in effect, Mr Bridges’ call is meaningless; he’s demanding something that’s already happened. No real investment required in that particular decision making.

What is troubling is his call to re-open the economy and drop down to Level 2.

Make no mistake. Simon Bridges has gone from being a clownish, slightly-irritating figure we love to ridicule – to a frightening politician who could do irreparable harm and perhaps cause fatalities if he was anywhere near the Ninth Floor and his open-the-doors-at-any-expense policies implemented.

We should understand one thing: he has pressing concerns and a clear agenda. Very little of which includes our safety.

This afternoon, we watched the Prime Minister and Director-General of Health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, give their daily 1pm public briefing. The news was good(ish). A slight rise in new cases – 20 – but most importantly, no more deaths. There was a silent sigh of relief amongst us.

The fact that the contagion has entered aged care facilities is troubling. While ours is not an aged care facility, our clients do have varying levels of health and under-lying conditions. I don’t quite know how, but we’ve dodged the viral bullet thus far.

On the way home tonight, I stepped out from the side door of the facility I work at. It was another still, unearthly quiet evening.

Except for some knocking on a door on some flats adjacent to us. A middle aged (late 50s, 60s?) pakeha gent, in working clothes and a red baseball cap was standing there, tapping away with his hands. As I walked past, he turned to look at me. I looked at him. Or rather, his red baseball cap. It was a “MAGA” cap.

The lettering was starkly visible in the porch light; “Make Ardern Go Away”.

I had not seen him at the flats before this night (and I’ve worked at the facility for over a year and a half). The “MAGA”-hat wearing fellow was almost certainly breaking his “bubble”.

I have news for him, and it’s not good. Ms Ardern will not “Go Away”. And it probably won’t make the virus go either.

Later this night, as I drove back home, I realised I could no longer defer my weekly shopping. Visiting the supermarket has now become a thing of dread. When did going to Pak N Save become like venturing onto a battlefield, fearing the next bullet or bomb that would snuff out my life?

Especially as I had latex gloves, but my remaining two face-masks were back at the facility I work at.

Of all the things that I find disturbing (aside from the deaths of people who’ve fallen victim to this invisible enemy), is venturing into a public place that I have little choice in visiting. The moment I walk through the sliding doors, my senses are on high alert. I have to be wary of people around me. Most keep to their two metre space-bubble, but with difficulty. Even supermarket aisles are difficult to maintain that spacing.

Some don’t care or forget.

And if I’m 100% truthful, on one ocassion, I was in the latter group. I forgot the etiquette; and walked to closely past a gentleman who let me in on an adjacent check-out queue. I deserved the stare he gave me.

I don’t want this hideous wary-existence to continue. But if it’s to save lives, I’ll choose Level 4 over Level 2 any day.

So should Simon Bridges.

Postscript

Check out the legend – TVNZ chief executive Kevin Kenrick – who publicly made a fool out of National’s Leader.

Current covid19 cases: 1,386

Cases in ICU: 3 (2 critical)

Number of deaths: 9

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References

BBC: Coronavirus – Nurse Areema Nasreen dies with Covid-19

Gulf News: Coronavirus – Healthy 13-year-old boy becomes UK’s youngest COVID-19 death

Fairfax/Stuff: Coronavirus: Simon Bridges calls for complete border shutdown for all non-residents

Twitter: Chris Change – Kevin Kenrick – 15 April 2020

RNZ: Covid-19 update – 20 new cases, no further deaths reported

Must Read

Elemental: Hold the Line

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

Previous related blogposts

RNZ: Coronavirus – Academics want much looser rules after lockdown

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Acknowledgement: Rod Emmerson

This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 16 April 2020.

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Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: Covid-19, Kevin Kenrick, level 4 lock down, MAGA, Simon Bridges

Life in Lock Down: Day 20

15 April 2020 Frank Macskasy Leave a comment

April 14: Day 20 of living in lock-down…

Today was a rotten day for four (at least) families. Four more people have succumbed to covid19. Despite recording only seventeen new cases – a cause for some celebration – knowing that families have lost loved ones to this virus dampens any notion of joyous celebration.

And I fear it will get worse.

Meanwhile there remains agitation from some quarters to lift restrictions and open up the economy. Whether it’s Matthew Hooton on RNZ’s Political Panel, or ACT’s David Seymour, or disturbingly chilling comments from senior lecturer in epidemiology at Auckland University Dr Simon Thornley on today’s [14 April] Morning Report – there are clamouring voices who appear to take our limited success in containing the contagion as some sort of “green light” to throw caution to the winds.

Dr Thornley’s cool, calm, methodical voice belied the casual disregard he showed to the risk faced by the elderly and those with under-lying medical conditions;

“We believe that the lockdown is an over-reaction, we believe that it doesn’t match the threat posed by the virus. One of the world’s leading statisticians has said that the risk of dying of covid19 is about same as your risk of dying that year anyway.

It’s effectively like squeezing your risk into two weeks.”

Corin Dann asked what Dr Thornley’s modelling has shown on the risks of covid19, he um’d, ah’d, and replied;

“We haven’t done modelling to predict what is going to happen, but we’ve actually observed what has happened in other countries that have had less severe lock-downs…”

When Corin Dann pointed out that Dr Thornley was asking the vulnerable and the elderly in New Zealand to “shoulder a much bigger risk”, he couldn’t offer an answer. You could almost feel Dr Thornley “shrugging”.

Dr Thornley replied he was “sceptical of modelling and assumptions”. He glossed over high death rates until Corin Dann pointed out high death rates had hit certain countries hard.

Corin Dann returned to the elderly faced a greater risk of death from the virus. Dr Thornley replied that “the elderly unfortunately every flu season people die of seasonal influenza“.

So, that’s ok then. In effect, the premature death of people is acceptable as long as the number is below fatalities caused by influenza. Premature death caused by disease; automobile crashes; drug and alcohol abuse; poor safety practices in the construction, farming, and logging industries; murder…

Because influenza has a set death rate, it has become a bench-mark for Dr Thornley?

Corin Dann quite rightly pointed to influenza vaccines being available to protect the elderly and vulnerable.

Dr Thornley deftly side-stepped influenza and referred to Australia “weathering the storm” with fewer restrictions.

Australia has 6,500 covid19 cases with sixtyone deaths. Hardly a target we should be emulating.

Microbiologist, Dr Siouxsie Wiles, was not impressed with Simon Thornley;

“To all the media listening to the 6 expert men, please ask them for the data which they say shows #COVID19 is “not the disaster we feared and prepared for”. Also please be mindful that Thornley did some spectacular cherry-picking last time he made the same claim.

It’s worth noting that the 6 experts seems to be saying that as vulnerable people would die at some point anyway, why not just let it be from Covid. My mum has a condition that makes her very vulnerable. But she’s fit & active & still leading a full life. Why should she die now?”

She quite rightly asked for the data from Dr Thornley;

Again. #COVID19 cases grow exponentially. So please Thornley, Schofield, et al. Show us your data. Because the data I’m looking at has plenty of countries digging mass graves.

But… according to Dr ~~Mengele~~ Thornley, mass graves are ok. As long as the number do not exceed influenza-caused deaths in any given year. And anyway, victims of covid 19 were going to die anyway.

Much like you, reading this blogpost. Or me, writing it. And everyone else. We’re all going to die. Covid19 just does it in two weeks.

It strikes me as bizarre that – in a strange way – we are victims of our own success in dealing with this contagion. Because our elected representatives, the Ministry of Health, and legends in the health sector have achieved such incredible success in containing the spread of infection, somehow that has translated in the minds of some as an “over reaction”. That we should have been more relaxed. Let the disease take it’s course.

Because didn’t that work out well in China, Italy, Spain, France, and the United States?!

The irony is that these Doubting Thomas’s and Thomasinas have the luxury to express such a view only because of our success. Had we gone the way of China, Italy, Spain, France, and the United States – the screaming would be from the other direction;

“Why didn’t you go sooner and harder?!”

Typical of some New Zealanders to be so lacking in self-confidence that success somehow equates to failure.

Well, listening to our very own “Angel of Death” was a helluva way to start the morning off. And it went downhill from there…

The good news is that Hutt Gas & Plumbing were able to fix the hose on my washing machine.

The not-so-good news? The plumber (nice bloke buy the way!) had better PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) than I have in my job: full body protection suit; mask; gloves, the whole nine yards. He put the gear on outside; entered the house; replaced the munted hose; left; and removed his gear.

So to get good PPE you should be a plumber, not a worker in the Health sector.

Good to know for future reference.

Also good to know that DHBs should be sacked in future and replaced with Commissioners if they continue to withhold PPEs from frontline health workers;

Another work day. Despite getting used to the restrictions of the lock-down, there are still frustrations. Food delivery to the facility I work at did not arrive today. Three hours wasted. Supplier promised delivery tomorrow at mid-day.

Running short on ASTM level1 masks. But on the positive side, our facility has plenty of blue latex gloves.

Maybe another facility that has spare face masks but is short on gloves can contact me and we can do an exchange? Can throw in some feijoas from my tree as well, to ‘sweeten the deal’?

Or I can take up plumbing.

Current covid19 cases: 1,366

Cases in ICU: 3 (1 critical)

Number of deaths: 9

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References

RNZ: Nine To Noon – Political Panel

Mediaworks/Newshub: Coronavirus – New Zealand should consider quitting lockdown early, David Seymour says

Twitter: Dr Siouxsie Wiles – Dr Thornley – 14 April 2020

Twitter: Dr Siouxsie Wiles – mass graves – 14 April 2020

Otago Daily Times: Health workers call for urgency over protective gear shortages

Mediaworks/Newshub: DHBs accused of charging doctors for personal protective gear amidst COVID-19 outbreak

RNZ: DHBs accused of ‘rationing’ PPE say they’re working to distribute it

Fairfax/Stuff: Coronavirus – New national PPE distribution system introduced after faults and shortages

Newsroom: Carers forced to wash and reuse masks

RNZ: Four more Covid-19 deaths in New Zealand, 17 new cases

Must Read

Elemental: Hold the Line

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

Previous related blogposts

RNZ: Covid-19 lockdown – Nearly 1000 motel units available for homeless

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This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 15 April 2020.

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Categories: Global, The Body Politic Tags: Covid-19, Dr Siouxsie Wiles, level 4 lock down, Simon Thornley

Life in Lock Down: Day 19

14 April 2020 Frank Macskasy Leave a comment

April 13: Day 19 of living in lock-down…

Nineteen new cases – that’s the good news. (But only if the low testing numbers over Easter have not skewed the results downwards.)

Another death – the not-so-good news we all dreaded.

The daily 1pm pressers have become a quasi pandemic lotto announcement. We await new figures with all the morbid fascination of driving slowly past a car crash, and trying to make sense of the mangled metal wrecks.

Tomorrow will be a return to a normal (or what passes for “normal” these days) and the next few days will confirm if the down trend is an accurate reflection of what’s happening – or simply the result of a long weekend.

Meanwhile the roads continue to be near-deserted and the streets equally vacant. Coming home tonight, I played “Alargo: Central Plateau“, a haunting piece of music from New Zealand musicians Kingsley Melhuish and Alan Brown. An apt piece to play, driving home in the dark, streets emptied of vehicles and people by an enemy we cannot see, hear, or touch.

An acquaintance told me she’s come to appreciate the lock-down. It has made her life simpler, taking her back to her childhood when things weren’t as commercialised and hectic as they were nearly three weeks ago. I recall the world we used to live in pre-1984; shops open five days a week; city streets near-empty; shops closed in the weekend except Dairies, petrol stations, and movie theatres. Now we don’t even have the movie theatres (though super markets have slipped through the time warp).

And it’s true. Wellington under lock-down is pretty much as I recall Saturdays and Sundays before the advent of almost non-stop retail activity.

In the suburbs, families with kiddies barely able to ride their trikes or scooters have reclaimed the near empty roads. They literally have become family-friendly. That’s a good thing – right?

Also the quietness. Few trucks. Airplanes are rarely in the sky. There are moments when there is nothing except the rustling of trees or birdlife or a dog. And when you do pass people out for a walk – despite the two metre “social distancing”, we’re actually looking at each other and sharing that secret “we’re-in-this-together” knowing smile.

Covid19 has given us a glimpse of what living could be if we just slowed down a bit; if we hadn’t exchanged a less frenetic life for the dubious “freedom” to shop-till-we-drop.

Commentators have suggested that the human race’s momentary “pause” might give us all an opportunity to re-think our values and the kind of world we want to live in. I doubt that. The moment humanity is able to get back on the treadmill, it will do so – and sadly at a faster pace. The frentic, commercialised life we’ve been living has been like a drug; too alluring to give up easily. We may’ve had to temporarily give up our “fix”, but our “dealers” will be back once the dust has settled…

On a relatively positive note, the government has leased nearly a thousand motel unit to house the homeless during the lock-down;

Minister for Housing Megan Woods said nearly 500 units were already filled and each unit could contain one person or a family.

“As of Thursday evening, 962 motel units in 15 towns and cities across New Zealand had been secured and made available, and 496 units already have homeless and vulnerable people living in them,” she said.

Government agencies were working very closely with iwi, community housing providers such as Housing First, Māori organisations, and local government to fill the remaining units, Woods said.

She praised the various community groups for their dedication and speed.

“In the last two weeks, there has been a massive effort to connect people who are homeless and living rough, with accommodation and social services.

“Many have been living on the streets or in unsuitable places where social distancing was not possible.”

But as Piki Martini – homeless for eighteen months – sadly revealed;

“We’ve been living in a car and a tent before here. It’s just quite sad that now everyone wants to worry about the homeless when this Covid-19 has come in, before then we were just everywhere.”

She has a point. Despite this government’s best (?) efforts, homelessness and over-crowding continues to be a blight on our society. It is troubling that the wheels-of-the-State move faster only when those Who Have may be threatened by Those Who Have Not, as potential disease-carriers.

Meanwhile, National’s housing spokesperson Simon O’Connor, raised the same question: what happens after the pandemic is no longer a pressing crisis?

Unfortunately (for him) his faux-concern was little more than jaw-dropping, eye-ball rolling, stomach-turning hypocrisy;

“There’s a risk here that just if you house the homeless, in a few weeks or months time, the government makes them homeless again.” – Simon O’Connor, National Party Housing Spokesperson, 12 April 2020

Let me just ‘put it out there’ that National should be the last to lecture us on homelessness. From 2008 until their admission of a “housing challenge“in 2016, National did nothing except open the floodgates to immigration, putting pressure on existing housing stock; reduce State housing by 7,400 units, and buy motels to put a roof over the heads of desperate families.

Mr O’Connor would do well to keep his head down. He and his former inept government exacerbated an ongoing housing crisis that will take a decade to fix.

His hypocrisy is unhelpful, to put it politely. Or if that doesn’t work, less politely.

Meanwhile, today, our Prime Minister – the Leader the rest of the world would dearly love to have as their own – continued to raise our spirits; keep hope alive; and admonish (like naughty children who’ve been pinching from the biscuit-jar) those who’ve been flouting the rules. As she rightly reminded us all, every time someone flouts the rules, the risk of transmission increases. And the risk of death to highly vulnerable people is made much worse.

As Ms Ardern reminded errant “children” for the umpteenth time, “it took just one case to spread among others“.

This evening, after coming home; stringently washing my hands, I made a light snack for myself. Indulged in eating too many feijoas from my tree, and Skyped my partner. Or rather, I could see her, but not vice versa. My camera? Skype itself? Gremlins in the system?

I teased her about her knitted beanie;

“It reminds me of Ena Sharples, from ‘Coronation Street.”

She promptly fired back;

“Filters, Frank, filters!”

Oh;

“Ah, yes, my filters. Initiating Lie Programme…

Your. Beanie. Looks. Very. Nice.”

Humour. In lieu of a vaccine, it’ll have to do as our “best medicine”.

Current covid19 cases: 1,349

Cases in ICU: 4 (1 critical)

Number of deaths: 5

.

References

NZ Musician: Alargo – Central Plateau

TVNZ: Government paying to house homeless in motels during Covid-19 lockdown

RNZ: ‘Housing ‘challenge’ still not a ‘crisis’

Noted/North & South: The economics of immigration in NZ

NZ Herald: Govt to buy more motels to house homeless as its role in emergency housing grows

Washington Post: New Zealand isn’t just flattening the curve. It’s squashing it.

RNZ: Fifth death from Covid-19 in New Zealand reported

Must Read

Elemental: Hold the Line

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

Previous related blogposts

The Mendacities of Mr English – No, I wasn’t told – Yes, I was told

RNZ: Most New Zealanders willing to extend Covid-19 lockdown ‘pain’ – survey

.

Acknowledgement: Jim Hubbard

This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 14 April 2020.

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Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: Covid-19, level 4 lock down, Simon O'Connor

Life in Lock Down: Day 18

13 April 2020 Frank Macskasy Leave a comment

April 12: Day 18 of living in lock-down…

The news today sounds good; “only” eighteen new cases. The lowest so far in a week. However, with testing far lower than usual because of the Easter Weekend, the fear is that the low number is misleading and we simply haven’t picked up more. Tuesday’s 1pm “presser” will give us a clearer picture hopefully.

Sunday is my one day off and aside from a few activities, I plan to do – nothing. At 9am I watch Jack Tame present the week’s Q+A. Guests today are Dr Ayesh Verrall, an Infectious Diseases Physician and senior lecturer at the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine in Wellington. She shares her knowledge and insights on covid19 and what we might expect from the contagion.

She is followed by Chris Hipkins, Minister for Education, on how schools will gradually re-open. There is talk of children observing the 2 metre rule. I shake my head at the naiveté of this. The only kids who isolate others are cliques who happen to be ostracising their chosen target-of-the-day. Anyone who things kids will observe the 2 metre rules when many adults forget or can’t be bothered, don’t understand young people.

There is discussion surrounding foreign students (or lack thereof) and how schools and Universities will cope without their income. Jack Tame ask if government will pick up the tab for the shortfall.

The question should be why we ever allowed education to be corporatised and turned into a commodity in the first place. Oh yeah, tax cuts. Well, I think the fragility of relying on overseas students to top up our education funding has been exposed for the rort that it is.

Chris Hipkins may have let slip that the government intends to drop down to Level 3 Alert at some near stage by pointing out that “going from Level 4 to Level 3 doesn’t mean things get back to normal”.

Chris Hipkins is followed by James Shaw with discussion on planned water reforms. Evidently Federated Farmers want reforms put on hold because of the current crisis and it’s putting too much pressure on their members.

Wait, what?

But, but, but… I thought farmers were already doing the water reforms themselves?!

James Shaw was asked about deferring the election from 19 September to November. His wise response: it’s up to the Electoral Commission to decide, not politicians. Which sounds fairly reasonable considering that bother NZ First and National want to defer the elections for ~~purely venal, self–serving reasons~~ the good of the country, of course. *rolls eyes*

James Shaw was adamant that climate change was still a threat that must be tackled as urgently as before. He pointed out the massive costs to future generations of not just paying back the colossal debts incurred by the pandemic crisis, but also damage which will inevitably flow from climate change. Double hit to our children.

The panellists consisted of fellow Daily Blogger and Auckland City Councillor, Efeso Collins, and NZ Herald financial journalist, Fran O’Sullivan.

Efeso Collins pointed out the folly of lifting the lock-down too early and the resurgence of covid19 in countries where they had had prematurely.

Fran O’Sullivan was having none of businesses whinging that the government should be drawing up plans for them for the lifting of the lock-down. She told them to do their own planing and they should be doing it now. She was adamant that businesses have a responsibility for planning and not to rely on central government laying down the rules. (Oh, the irony…)

Fran O’Sullivan said that Simon Bridges and the National Party will have to re-calibrate their economics policy, in the light of the massive damage inflicted by the pandemic.

Efeso Collins agreed with Winston Peters that the election should be postponed to 21 November.

Both agreed that Prime Minister Ardern should have sacked David Clark on the spot.

After Q+A, some light lunch with feijoas off my tree; and then take the car to fuel up at the local Waitomo outlet.

Then a look at what’s been happening in the media…

RNZ reported a poll carried out by Research NZ that showed the over-whelming number of New Zealanders would agree to extending the lock-down by a further two weeks if it were necessary;

Agreed they would: 60%

Disagreed: 14%

Didn’t know: 26%

Sixtypercent showed a high level of support.

The poll also disclosed;

…87 percent felt most New Zealanders were observing restrictions on movement. This week it has fallen to 79 percent.

“What that’s telling me is that more New Zealanders are thinking that other people are not observing the restrictions. Perhaps that’s got to do with some of the media coverage we are seeing.”

In relation to police getting tougher, 85 percent agreed and 72 percent said a 10pm curfew should be introduced to restrict any unnecessary travel.

When it comes to other people not observing the restrictions, it’s hardly surprising with the statistics released by Police;

847 breaches of the Covid-19 lockdown rules, comnprising of,

109 prosecutions

717 warnings

21 youth referrals

Those are disturbing numbers. Especially as they appear to be an increase from last week; “367 breaches on April 8, with 45 prosecutions and 309 warnings“.

What should be even more troubling is how many are escaping detection? If even one percent of those 847 breaches carried a covid19 infection, that’s potentially up to eight people wandering around spreading infection.

Worse still is Police time and resources being wasted by self-indulgent idiots, not just breaching lock-down, but holding full-on parties;

And then, this fiasco and example of stunning moronic behaviour;

It appears from various media reports that not only are people flouting the life-saving lock-down, but are taking the piss when it comes to the Police;

“Over the duration of the lockdown period, police have received thousands of reports relating to Alert Level 4 restriction breaches and police have been following up this information, with enforcement action being taken in some instances.”

Glossop said officers cannot attend every job but priority is given to jobs where there is an immediate risk to people or property.

Vehicles were in the car park, where people often leave their cars before doing a loop track in the nearby Department of Conservation reserve.

Ged Blackbourn, who lives nearby, said he had seen the car park full at times. Police had occasionally visited to drive people away, but it quickly filled up again, he said.

When Police follow through on only 109 prosecutions out of 847 breaches – a 13% enforcement/prosecution rate – what else do they expect the idiot to do? Of course they will persist in flouting the rules.

Let me point out that if I’m 10kms an hour over the speed limit on the motorway and I get “pinged” by a radar van or police in a car, the ticket/prosecution rate is: 100%.

I do not get a warning. Not “advice” on how to drive safely. The ticket is issued without discussion.

Wouldn’t it be great if I could speed at 110kph if I’m late to work, knowing there was only a 13% chance I’d get prosecuted if caught?!?! So why treat the flouters of the lock-down any different?!

Maybe I’m not privileged enough. Like these guys;

Note this bit: “Officials are begging people who aren’t already on Auckland city’s islands to stay where they are.”

So if rule breakers are white Middle Class boat-owners, officials have to “beg” them to comply with the rules?

When is the last time WINZ/MSD “begged people” when it came to questioning their welfare entitlements?

If I may misquote from “Cool Hand Luke“;

If/when we beat covid19, it will be no thanks to these people.

Next item on the agenda: the so-called “Taxpayers Union”, a thinly-disguised front for the National/ACT Party. The TU is calling for salary cuts in the state sector;

Campaigns Manager Louis Houlbrooke said “We’re asking the public sector to fairly share the burden of the economic crunch by cancelling all pay hikes until the economy has recovered. We’re also asking elected officials, public sector CEOs*, and their leadership teams** to take a 12-month twenty percent pay cut.”

“A temporary salary reduction for those paid the most in the public sector would be a prudent and compassionate response to the pressures faced by households and businesses across New Zealand. Business leaders predict unemployment to rise to around ten percent in the coming months, and private sector bosses are taking financial haircuts to limit the impact on lower earners.”

“The average public sector salary is around a third higher than that of the private sector. They also have the luxury of far higher job security. A twenty percent pay cut is a small sacrifice in these extraordinary times when so many New Zealanders are losing their jobs.”

Which is so ironic that it beggars belief. It was only 36 years ago that neo-liberalism swept through Aotearoa; state assets were privatised; and a corporate ethos introduced into government departments and local bodies. The parroted justification given by the Right when discussing high salaries for the State sector and Local Body bosses is that they have to compete with the corporate sector.

The Right introduced corporate-style “market rates” for state sector/local body bosses. Not anyone else. They did this.

Indeed, this was the very point of the State Sector Act 1988.

And now a bunch of Right wingers who have just accepted state funding – money from the tax payer —

–have the colossal cheek to complain about bloated state sector salaries?! Their hypocrisy, like our Universe, is boundless. They are not to be taken seriously; they are charlatans. [Hat-tip: Martyn Bradbury]

Meanwhile to cap off a day when we should have been celebrating the decline (hopefully) of a microscopic foe, this reminds us that where there is brilliance – there is also crass dumbness;

— which – bizarrely – is the polar opposite to what he wrote on 23 March;

Curious.

Are there two Gareth Morgans with differing opinions? (Poor cats!)

Has he been sipping one shandy too many, perhaps?

Or maybe, like Bob Jones, he’s just plain losing/lost the plot…?

As before, I am reminded that what I fear most is not a highly contagious virus that has killed over 109,000 people…

… but the irrationality of some of my fellow human beings.

But to end on a lighter note, I offer this witty piece from Andrew Gunn;

Current covid19 cases: 1,330

Cases in ICU: 5 (1 critical)

Number of deaths: 4

.

References

Mediaworks/Newshub: Big improvement by dairy farmers to protect waterways, says report

TVNZ: More than 800 breaches of Covid-19 lockdown rules with 109 prosecutions

TVNZ: Six people arrested for fighting at Auckland party during lockdown

Fairfax/Stuff: Ambulance stuck in sand after vehicle rolls at Foxton Beach during coronavirus lockdown

Mediaworks/Newshub: Coronavirus – Boaties ignoring lockdown orders slammed as ‘pirates’

Scoop: Campaign Launched – Public Sector Pay Cuts For COVID-19 Relief

NZ History: The 1980s – 1988 – key events

Mediaworks/Newshub: Coronavirus – Taxpayers’ Union gives up ‘ideological purity’, accepts $60,000 in taxpayer wage subsidies

Twitter: Gareth Morgan – lock down – 12 april 2020

Twitter: Gareth Morgan – lock down – 23 March 2020

Fairfax/Stuff: Somewhere on the road between Tauranga and Wellington, a Zoom meeting

RNZ: Covid-19 wrap – What happened on 12 April, Easter Sunday

Must Read

Elemental: Hold the Line

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

Other Blogs

The Daily Blog: The Taxpayers’ Union, the great champions of the free market are taking Government Money

Previous related blogposts

RNZ: More industry and small businesses could reopen – National

.

Acknowledgement: Sharon Murdoch

This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 13 April 2020.

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Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: Covid-19, Easter, level 4 lock down

Life in Lock Down: Day 17

12 April 2020 Frank Macskasy Leave a comment

April 11: Day 17 of living in lock-down…

The good news: new cases of covid19 is down again, to 29. That’s another fall since yesterdays unexpected spike of 44.

The bad news: two more people have passed away from the virus. Both in older age group and both with underlying medical conditions.

The hopeful news: that if new cases continue to drop until we reach nil, we may have driven this virus to extinction (at least here in in Aotearoa) by the time lock-down is set to lift on 23 April. After that, until a vaccine is created or – more unlikely – covid19 is eliminated from the face of this planet, the entire country will be in semi-self-isolation. International travel will remain but a fond memory as few people will want to be put into a mandatory two week quarantine after arriving here. (And there will be bleatings galore from David Seymour, the tourism sector – or what’s left of it – and vote-chasing mischief-makers in the National Party and it’s fellow-travellers.)

Meanwhile, to counter the irresponsible shrill clamour from National, ACT, and the business lobby, to re-open commercial activities before the four weeks lock-down is completed – or even portions thereof – Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has urged the world not to act precipitously by abandoning restrictions;

″I know that some countries are already planning the transition out of stay-at-home restrictions. WHO wants to see restrictions lifted as much as anyone.

At the same time, lifting restrictions too quickly could lead to a deadly resurgence. The way down can be as dangerous as the way up if not managed properly.”

Do we listen to the science-based health professionals? Or vote-chasing politicians and profit-driven businesspeople? (That should not even be a question.)

This morning for me should have been one of my days-off weekend. But it was another work day as I filled in for a colleague whose “bubble” is simply too large and risky to allow him to interact with our clients. If covid19 got into our facility at least two, maybe three, people would not survive. And myself and five of my colleagues would be in self-isolation for two weeks. Six more pieces removed from the board, to use a chess analogy.

I’m not due to start till 3pm, so that gives me time to sort out a tap fitting/connector for my washing-machine. I realised later in the day yesterday that a visit to Mitre10 would be out of a question. They are restricted to tradespeople only (which I 100% endorse). So snap a few pics of the part I need; take measurements; look up the actual name, and then send through the info to Hutt Gas & Plumbing. I get a reply; they can provide the part on Tuesday. Sorted.

Next, at 11am I skype my partner. The internetty thingy is acting up and it takes several minutes to connect. Is this what the telephone service was like a century ago?

We finally connect and we soon chat away for the next hour. She’s been keeping stringently to her “bubble” and most of her day has been filled with an early morning walk around her immediate neighbourhood and working on her ~~remnant stand of native forest~~ “garden”. Kaka’s, Tui, Pīwakawaka, and other birds love her area.

Later this evening she will make her once-a-week visit to her local supermarket.

We have just under two weeks to go before we can do something as simple as have dinner together or go to the movies.

In the early afternoon, I hit the road. It’s a bright, sunny, warm day with only a few clouds in the sky. The Park N Ride carpark is, again, empty. People are about, walking. With such minimal traffic it’s quiet and peaceful.

The white motorhome is unmoved. Even after lock-down is over, whether extended or not, my gaze will now automatically be looking for this large vehicle parked on a main thoroughfare connecting my suburb to SH2.

On the road, traffic is light all the way into Wellington. There are only a handful of cars sharing the road with me at any given moment. Vehicles noticed; 6 police cars; a skip-bin truck; a double-tandem “Pacific” branded fuel tanker; ambulance; a “Supreme” towing truck (the same clown who tailgated me yesterday, I wonder?); a “Linfox” truck-cab, minus it’s trailer; “Spotless Catering” ute; “EnviroWay” rubbish (or ecycling?) truck; a “Wellington Water” van”; several utility vehicles, company branded heading the opposite way; 2 “Countdown” food trucks; “Fish Factory” light truck, and a few others.

Traffic in Wellington was marginally busier than yesterday. The supermarkets will be open today, attracting people out of their homes. The weather was markedly cooler in town than the Hutt Valley; cloudier and chillier.

Outside Chaffers St New World supermarket, there was a long queue of people waiting to enter. Social distancing was well-practiced.

Both sandy beaches at Oriental Bay were deserted;

The Evans Bay Marina Carpark appeared to have the same number of camper vans as the last few days.

Between my home and Miramar, I had seen more police cars than any other given days since Lock-down.

At work, a colleague and I discussed the near non-existent pandemic protocols we had been operating under at the beginning of the Lock-down. Hardly surprising; 99% of the entire country (the entire world!) was unprepared. After cessation of the State of Emergency and lifting of lock-down, we considered that a full written de-brief would be essential so organisations like ours could put in place a ready-made plan for when (not if!) the next pandemic arose.

Management were woefully ill-prepared for the current emergency and the response – ad hoc as it appeared to be – was led by workers on the ground, at the coal-face. The moment Level 4 was implemented, our facility was sealed off to the public; non-permanent staff; and even management from our organisation. We had limited tools; a few boxes of latex gloves; some disinfectant; and three bottles of hand-sanitiser ‘squirrelled away’ in our Emergency Disaster Kit.

But what we did have plenty of were our wits; initiative; and commitment to get the job done. And all the while, carrying out all our normal duties as well as keeping our clients safe, calm, and reassured.

Righto, sorted.

(Management caught up with us a week later.)

The lock-down of our facility is now the “new norm”. Our clients are used to it – perhaps even reassured that the stringent measures we’ve taken is for theirs (and ours) benefit.

That night, on my way home, traffic was again light. Playing a “game”, I counted the number of vehicles I sighted whilst driving from Miramar to the Terrace Tunnel: around 45. It was a Saturday night, around 8.15pm.

Before heading home, I made my weekly trip to the supermarket. Not that I needed much, this time. Goods purchased I arrived home. First thing; leave shoes outside. Then, getting through the door, after dropping the grocery bags; a full 20 second hand wash. Then empty all items onto kitchen bench. Packaged goods studiously wiped clean with disinfectant. Fresh produce, washed under running water; shake of water; rinse again.

Then wipe entire bench with disinfectant. Cloth in soaking bucket.

Put the jug on for a cup of Chai Tea.

Relax.

Welcome to the world of 2020AD.

Current covid19 cases: 1,312

Cases in ICU: 5 (1 critical)

Number of deaths: 4

.

References

Mediaworks/Newshub: Coronavirus – New Zealand should consider quitting lockdown early, David Seymour says

SBS: Hasty virus lockdown lift could spark ‘deadly resurgence’ – WHO

RNZ: Covid-19 – Coronavirus death toll rises to four in New Zealand

Must Read

Elemental: Hold the Line

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

Previous related blogposts

RNZ: Coronavirus – Universities seek travel ban exemption for students

.

Acknowledgement: @twisteddoodles

This blogpost was first published on The Daily Blog on 12 April 2020.

= fs =

Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: Covid-19, Easter, level 4 lock down

Life in Lock Down: Day 16 – Bad Friday

11 April 2020 Frank Macskasy 15 comments

April 10: Day 16 of living in lock-down…

And the news is not good. Another death, this time an elderly woman in a rest home. With 44 new cases, a rise from the steadily declining numbers since Monday, the struggle is far from over.

Friday is Good Friday, but there’s nothing much “good” about it. In normal times the roads would have been clogged with traffic last night and today. Far from it; they appear mostly empty. The Park N Ride in my area usually has between two to four cars each day since lock-down. Today it is empty.

On my way to the highway, I drive past the white motorhome. It’s still parked in position.

The few commercial vehicles I do spot; a light truck, unmarked, carrying firewood; a “Supreme” towing truck (which tailgated me for several kilometres – on an all but empty stretch of highway! Driver of tow-truck, rego, “WE TØW”, you need to learn to keep your distance! Otherwise your next rego plate may be “WE CRSH”);

–a van marked “Optare”; “Pacific” branded ute; a Hyundai traffic radar van north of Belmont; “First Security” car; “Absolute Control” branded van; 2 ambulances; several recreational bicyclists; a police car heading my opposite way, north, with flashing lights and siren; more bicyclists on the harbour highway south of Petone; a “Mainfreight” truck; an ambulance; a “K9 Explosive Detector Dog” ute;

Commercial traffic on the roads is light; most of the traffic are cars. It’s a fine sunny day; barely any clouds in the sky. People are out and about, walking.At the SH58 interchange traffic is still light; three cars to me rear; one in front. North of Melling Interchange traffic has thinned to maybe one or two cars in my field of vision. A few families are dotted along the Hutt River, on the stoney banks enjoying the autumn sun; all are well spaced apart. South of the Melling interchange, there were occasions when the highway was utterly empty of traffic.

The harbour was beautifully calm with plenty of sun shining over Wellington City;

In normal times this would be cause for joy. But these are not normal times and fine weather bring out people onto the roads, footpaths, beaches, parks, etc. Not good places to be in times of pandemic.

It was reassuring that not one single recreational boat (or any other craft) could be seen on the water.

Approaching the Terrace Tunnel, traffic remained light, with perhaps only half a dozen vehicle behind me and nothing in front. This is in stark contrast to normal holidays periods and weekend when the approach roads to the tunnel are actually busier than during the working week! The tunnel itself had one car in front and three behind me.

The “Z” service station fuel price board lights were still out; there was light foot traffic on the city footpaths; and car traffic was the lightest I’ve seen it all week.

Oriental Bay parade was busier, with a steady stream of bicyclists and pedestrians, though no one was lying on either the main or smaller beaches in the Bay;

Evans Bay Parade was equally busy with walkers and pedestrians. Most kept to the two metre rule. A few did not.

A police car passed me on this stretch of road. That would be the only police seen until around 3 to 4pm. In Hataitai, these two police vehicles were seen parked side-by-side. The constables appeared to be taking a break; chatting with a young lady leaning on one car window (waaaay closer than 2 metres, folks!); or checking their devices;

[Images have been redacted for privacy/occupational reasons.]

Perhaps one of the most bizarre things seen during this lock-down crisis is this sign on a “Four Square” shop (location not to be disclosed). The white sign states;

“*NOTICE*

Maximum of 10 people allowed in store at a time. Please keep your distance of 2 mtrs from each other, Thanks, […] FourSquare”

The reason the sign is utterly ridiculous? This particular “Four Square” is little bigger than your average Dairy. The aisles are hardly a metre apart and the small size of the store would make it near-impossible for ten people to keep a 2-metre distance.

This is why when businesses demand to open to the public, and promise – hand-on-heart – to implement safety protocols: Do not take them at their word.

If we had acceded to demands from Universities NZ and Hospitality NZ to continue allowing foreign students to enter Aotearoa, and for bars and restaurants to remain open – while “promising social distancing” – the infection would have most likely spread like wildfire throughout the country.

This government is right to be firm in maintaining the lock-down. Lives depend on how we respond to the contagion.

On the way home in the evening, the city was the most deserted I have ever seen it. Except for street and commercial lighting, and a few vehicles, it was the closest I have ever compared it to a post-apocalypse movie. I spotted one ambulance and later, north of Melling, one police vehicle that had pulled over a late-model sportscar.

Wellingtonians seemed to be heeding the call to stay home and not venture out.

More than ever, we must all maintain the safety protocols; wash hands; maintain safe distance; restrict your “bubble”; don’t try to ‘cheat’. As infectious disease epidemiologist, Jonathan Smith, warned us;

The enemy we are facing is very good at what it does; we are not failing. We need everyone to hold the line as the epidemic inevitably gets worse. This is not an opinion. This is the unforgiving math of epidemics for which I and my colleagues have dedicated our lives to understanding with great nuance, and this disease is no exception. Stay strong and in solidarity knowing that what you are doing is saving lives, even as people continue getting sick and dying.

[…]

This virus is unforgiving to unwise choices. As this epidemic continues, it will be easy to be drawn to the idea that what we are doing isn’t working and we may feel compelled to “cheat” with unnecessary breaches of social distancing measures.

Which is why the community must do it’s bit; the Police have to come down hard on those who flout the rules; and the business lobby (and their National Party allies) stops pressuring the government to loosen the lock-down rules. The lock-down is porous enough as it is.

In fact, I totally concur with Martyn Bradbury’s call to extend the lock down to six weeks;

The health math demands 6 weeks. Incubation time of the virus is 14 days, but there are cases where it has been 19 days and 27 days, so we went into lockdown on Wednesday 25th meaning the majority of infections will appear by April 8th in the second week of the 4 week lockdown, but we need to KNOW the damned virus has been completely eradicated, so that takes us out to April 21st for the last possible incubation date and we would need at least 2 weeks of no new infections to know the sacrifice had been worth it.

[…]

Death Cult Capitalists, Matthew Hooton, Mike Hosking & Gareth Morgan are all crying out that 30 000 deaths is acceptable as long as neoliberalism can get back to work so the stress on Jacinda to lift the lockdown at the end of the 4 weeks is building, regardless of the above public health math.

The simple truth is that Jacinda must extend the 4 weeks to 6 weeks because if we come back at 4 weeks and the bloody thing keeps spreading, she will get blamed.

It gives me no pleasure to advocate for an extension. I’m now working six days a week (to minimise the number of people required to work at a given work-place) and I miss my partner who I haven’t see for over three weeks. (We have our separate homes and “bubbles”.)

But it’s either extending the lock-down or ending it prematurely. The virus does not respect human being’s arbitrary rules. It thumbs it’s nose at us and our social and legal structures (if covid19 had thumbs and a nose).

And if the Prime were to cave to pressures from the business lobby, as Martyn Bradbury points out, her political enemies and other sundry armchair experts would blame her for the consequences.

We need to go the distance. If necessary even , extend the distance. Don’t ever forget; we can out-think and out-wit covid19. That is our unique strength.

We just need to use our wits.

Current covid19 cases: 1,283

Cases in ICU: 4 (2 critical)

Number of deaths: 2

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References

RNZ: Covid-19 – Hospitality industry asking customers to sign in

Elemental: Hold the Line

Daily Blog: Why Jacinda MUST keep us locked up for 6 weeks

RNZ: Covid-19 – What happened on Good Friday

Must Read

Elemental: Hold the Line

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

Previous related blogposts

RNZ: Covid-19 – The key developments in New Zealand from April 8

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Acknowledgement: Evans

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Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: Covid-19, Easter, level 4 lock down

Life in Lock Down: Day 15

10 April 2020 Frank Macskasy 3 comments

April 9: Day 15 of living in lock-down…

The news is great!

Sunday: 89 new cases

Monday: 67

Tuesday: 54

Wednesday: 50

Today: 29

If these numbers are correct and there’s no unknown “hot spot(s)” around the country, we have demonstrated with great clarity what can be achieved when a society acts collectively (with minor exceptions of a few idiots and misguided examples of naked commercial/political self-interest) for the greater good.

We can contrast our collective action with that of rugged individualism (mixed with a tonne of incompetence from the narcissist in the White House) in the United States;

Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, we have our own impending problem: the long Easter Weekend. Traditionally a time when thousands of Kiwi families pile into their cars; get stuck in massive traffic jams for a few hours; drive to destination ‘X’ to “get away from it all”‘ three days later pile back into their vehicles; get stuck in massive traffic jams for several hours for the return home; arrive home knackered. Wasn’t that fun?!

Not this year. The constant plea is:

To reinforce the new imperative for this Easter, the Police ramped up their warnings in the media. There would be no tolerance of a minority who chose to wilfully ignore the lock down;

Road policing team-supervisor, Andrew Heath, explained the simplicity of how Police would track recalcitrant selfish motorist wannabe-holidaymakers;

“So what’s going to happen for that couple is there’s going to be a notification put in against their names and that vehicle that they’ve breached the lockdown rules, and if they’re stopped again, further action may be taken.”

Meanwhile, as the majority of New Zealanders stayed home and a small minority of self-entitled idiots tried to flout the rules, those of us working in essential services carried on. Thursday would be another work day for us, albeit contrasted against this new weird reality.

At the near Park N Ride, the usual two cars were parked, alone in their vast expanse of bitumen.

On the road, commercial traffic continued to operate; 2 “Mainfreight” trucks; a “Evotek” van; “Linfox” fuel tanker; “Waste Management” rubbish truck; “Armourguard” van and “Armourguard” car; “Aquaheat” ute; “Wright Pools & Spas” ute; an “Aquaheat” van; a “McGuiness” truck; 2 “Supreme Towing” trucks; “MRL/MRI Power” ute; 3 “Salvation Army Family Store” trucks; “Mainstream” covered truck; a police van; a “AA” Service ute; 3 “Trans Power” utes; a “Higgins” concrete truck; a SPCA ute; a “Fliway” branded small truck; a “L.G. Anderson container truck; a “Linfox” covered truck; “Spotless Catering” van; 2 “Fulton Hogan” roadworks trucks; a “Downer” ute and a “Downer” truck; “Countdown” food delivery truck; a “Laser Plumbing” van; “Capital Plumbing” van; “Wellington Security” van;

The white motorhome still parked on the side of the road. Would it still be there over the long weekend? I’d be curious…

Traffic on SH2 north of Lower Hutt was still light. There seemed no apparent change in the few number of cars were around me. At Melling numbers slight inceased to around seven in front of me and five to the rear. Still increadibly sparse as this is a major interchange in the Hutt Valley. The harbour highway into Wellington seemed marginally busier, with about seven behind and five cars in front of me. These numbers would increases or drop, but the road was never less than half a dozen. On the motorway this increased to ten cars in front and another ten behind. Definitely more traffic than yesterday. In the Terrace Tunnel, there were five cars to the rear of me and five to the front. Exiting the tunnel, Vivian Street had more traffic than yesterday with about a dozen cars in front of me.

It’s a beautiful autumn, sunny early afternoon. The sun is bright overhead in a sky studded with a few clouds. Despite the brightness of the sun, warmth is lack and there’s a definite chill in the still air.

There was a long queue outside Chaffer Street “New World”, extending out onto the footpath and around half the block;

As I snapped the pic above, I noticed one your woman walk past the line, well within half a metre – almost elbow touching – from other people… and then stood two metres behind the last person in line. I’m guessing she would have walked closely past eight people to then “social distance” herself. Clearly did not think that one through.

At the beginning of Oriental Bay,the message on the electronic light-board had changed;

Perhaps pedestrians had had a word in the ears of the powers-that-be that cyclists were not adhering to the 2 metre rule? Which is ironic as that is precisely the complaint cyclists have of car drivers on the road. Pot, kettle, it seems.

Coming home tonight; one Highway Patrol police car parked near the Aotea Quay turnoff. Traffic in and out of the city, between 7.30 and 8 – was almost nil. This was not the usual pre-Easter holiday traffic crush. People are heeding the call to stay home?

One hopes.

Postscript

This Diary entry is truncated. The author spent an hour searching for, and finding, a leak from his washing machine. Actually two leaks. Were they easily reachable to fix, or right at the back, almost out of reach? Apply Murphy’s Law. That’s your answer.

One leak fixed. Just needed a tightening of a fitting.

The other fitting – munted. I’ll have to risk a quick visit to Mitre10 on Saturday. Damn.

Current covid19 cases: 1,239

Cases in ICU: 4 (? critical)

Number of deaths: 1

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References

RNZ: Covid-19: What happened on 5 April

Vox: The deep ideological roots of Trump’s botched coronavirus response

Time: The Trump Administration Fumbled Its Initial Response to Coronavirus. Is There Enough Time to Fix It?

Newsweek: Ex-GOP Strategist Calls Trump ‘Incompetent,’ ‘Ignorant’ Over Handling of Coronavirus Pandemic

RNZ: Police checkpoints set up to stop holidaymakers

Fairfax/Stuff: Coronavirus – Police turning back holidaymakers trying to breach lockdown rules

NZ Herald: Covid 19 coronavirus: Police stop cars escaping for Easter, warning drivers at Auckland – motorway

RNZ: Number of new cases of Covid-19 in NZ plummets to 29

Must Read

Elemental: Hold the Line

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

Previous related blogposts

RNZ: NZers breaching lockdown ‘more likely to be flouting the rules’ – police

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Categories: Various Tags: Covid-19, Easter, level 4 lock down

Life in Lock Down: Day 14

9 April 2020 Frank Macskasy Leave a comment

April 8: Day 14 of living in lock-down…

The good news first: the downward trajectory of new cases appears to be a real thing. In the last four days, since Sunday, new infections have been dropping:

Sunday: 89 new cases

Monday: 67

Tuesday: 54

Today (Wednesday): 50

The bad news? Businesses and their shop-bought political servants in Parliament and fellow-travellers in the msm will be agitating to have the already-porous lock-down lifted as soon as the four week period has ended. A certain right-wing politician – with one eye on winning his electorate and boosting his Party Vote, and another eye on potential One Percenter donors – has actually called for lifting the lock-down even earlier.

Add to the above toxic mix of money-hungry business people and their right-wing political stooges – the repugnant side of self-entitled, privileged Middle New Zealanders for whom the rules do not seem to apply – and the stage is set for a potential disaster.

With the Easter long weekend fast approaching, police have been issuing statements that they will not tolerate people jumping into their cars; boats in tow; and heading off to their holiday “baches/cribs”;

Up until this point the police have been pleading for everyone to do the “right thing”. Because as we all know, pleading works so well for a minority of Middle Class selfish idiots. The same selfish idiots who usually vote National because they demand tough “Law and Order” policies when it comes to brown people in Otara or Porirua – but don’t ever expect it used against their own privileged white skins.

The Middle Class have always expected better treatment than their poorer (mostly brown) cuzzies. Case in point, the Australian government has temporarily increased welfare benefit payments;

Jobseekers will get a $550 boost to their fortnightly welfare payments for six months in one of the largest increases to social security benefits in Australia’s history, as the government seeks to shield the unemployed ahead of a looming recession.

In a press conference at Parliament House on Sunday, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, said the changes, which effectively double the rate of Jobseeker Payment, reflected a desire to cushion those “who will be feeling the first blows of the economic impact from the coronavirus”.

Make no mistake, this is not about giving extra humanitarian support for lower socio-economic people who have survived on the most basic welfare benefits. The simple reason the benefits are increasing is, as Scott Morrison, disclosed: “to cushion those “who will be feeling the first blows of the economic impact from the coronavirus”. Translation: to pander to the Middle Class who will be made jobless as covid19 cripples the Australian economy and send hundreds of thousands of them onto welfare.

Imagine the howls of outrage if Middle Class workers made unemployed suddenly discovered how pitiful welfare actually is?

The Middle Class votes (unlike those in lower socio-economic groups). No government will want to antagonise that group of voters. So up goes welfare – temporarily.

That same sense of privileged entitlement is also pervasive throughout (some of) our own Middle Class.

But not this time. I suspect that the great majority of New Zealanders from every socio-economic class; ethnic group; political leaning; gender, race; etc, have had a gutsful of these entitled oafs for whom a global pandemic means very little except an impromptu holiday. Most New Zealanders, I believe, want to see the millions of tax dollars spent on Police put to good use, clamping down on spoiled pricks who think they can get away with shit because… expensive car… expensive holiday home… latest devices… nice clothes… often private schooled spawn… in short, they’re entitled.

Our ‘protestant urge to punish’ may finally be put to good use.

Up until now, Police response has been one of tolerance that has been increasingly frustrating to those of us who fulfil our collective responsibility to stay home and respect the lock-down. The Police disclosed on 8 April that they “have now dealt with 367 breaches of the alert level four lockdown rules, with 45 prosecutions, 309 warnings and 13 youth referrals“.

Only 45 prosecutions out of 367 breaches? Is this the same Police who are going uber-macho with their armed response teams? In poorer neighbourhoods, of course.

So it’s refreshing to see in the last 24 hours our police force leadership growing a pair and moving from plaintive pleas, to outright threats of arrest;

“We have … the power to arrest and we can charge for breach of the Health Notice. We’ve taken a pretty gentle approach up to this point but people have had a long time now to understand what the powers are, and so we are prepared to take enforcement action if people are deliberately flouting the rules.

And we will be out in high visibility, patrolling. We will use checkpoints in some places.

Our message to people is ‘stay home’. We’ve put too much into this to compromise it by trying to get away for a holiday weekend.” – Police Commissioner Andrew Coster, 8 April 2020

Make no mistake. The idiots who wilfully flout the rules are endangering everyone else. People have lost their jobs; their incomes; their businesses; and tragically, their lives overseas, and one here in Aotearoa.

As Far North mayor, John Carter, explained with crystal clarity;

“If we all behave ourselves, we’ll all be able to travel freely without restrictions soon. But if we breach it, and decide that we can travel and one or two or three of us spread the disease then we’re going to be in lockdown for a hell of a lot longer.”

There must be zero tolerance shown to these idiots. Prosecute and convict. No exceptions: lives and livelihoods depend on this.

Otherwise, this;

Meanwhile, my own living in Lock-Down continues. Except, of course, I have little choice in this crisis and being part of the wider health sector, I’m an essential worker. (Kind of like winning Reverse Lotto?)

This morning, my usual ride to work took me past the Park N Ride carpark. Only two cars present.

On the main thoroughfare to SH2, the white motorhome was still parked in its odd, facing-oncoming-traffic, spot.

On the motorway, the following were observed; a light gravel-truck, marked “Whakatiki”, carrying a full load of gravel; a small “Kiwirail” hi-ab truck; an unmarked small tanker-truck; 2 ambulances; “Cabernet Foods” refrigerated truck; a fire appliance truck; a black ute marked “Arlington Motors”; “JC Plumbing” van; an unmarked traffic management van; an “Armourguard” branded car; a ute marked “WE” (Wellington Electricity); a “Toll” van; a “FMS” van; an “Inter Group” truck; a medium-sized gravel hauling truck; “Arrow” branded van; a “Downer” van; another gravel truck (company name not visible); a covered “Linfox” truck; a “Food Rescue” truck; a “Big Chill” truck; 2 “New World” covered trucks; “Downer” Incident Support truck; a “Mainfreight” truck; a flat deck truck carrying 4 port-a-loos; a “Downer” gravel truck; a “Chubb” security van; a “Hawkins” plumping van; a drain-unblocking plumber’s truck; a “Bridgestone Tyres” light truck; a “Prestons” light truck; an unbranded skip-bin truck, et al.

Note: several more commercial vehicles were either unmarked or their corporate logo could not be discerned.

Also sighted, a police car and a campervan, heading north.

It rained reasonably heavily the previous night. Cloud cover was clearing, and the sun was already shining over the region. Traffic north of SH58 turn-off was moderate; four vehicles in front, four to the rear. Moving south of the SH58 interchange, traffic thinned out. Traffic today trough the Terrace tunnel was the heaviest it has been throughout the lock-down, as was traffic in the city itself. Exiting the Terrace tunnel I could see about a dozen cars in front of me – a marked change from the one or three usually present.

Observation; despite the downward plunge for oil prices, 91 octane car fuel has remained steady at most Wellington major service stations at $1.95 per litre. Petrol companies have not been responsive to the massive drop in crude oil prices, it seems.

Tonight, as I watched the weather forecast on TV1, I was suddenly reminded how much I was missing my partner. We haven’t seen each other for three weeks, (phone calls and skype don’t count) as we scrupulously adhere to our own respective “bubbles”. There’s two weeks to go.

As Prime Minister Ardern has reminded us constantly, we need to Stay The Distance.

That evening, on my way home between 7.30 and 8.00PM, I sighted two Fulton Hogan road marking gangs at work; one in the Terrace Tunnel, and another north of the tunnel near the currently-blocked off Aotea Quay turn-off. More road marking work going on, in addition to that sighted on Monday night.

Is road marking an essential task during a global pandemic?

A further observation: with retailers, cafes, and most others obeying the letter of the law as well as the spirit, my bank account is healthier than ever before. There’s simply very little to spend money on aside from fuel, food, utilities, and the bank mortgage.

It’s amazing how much one can save (if privileged to be in a reasonable paying job) when consumerism is put on-hold.

Current covid19 cases: 1,210

Cases in ICU: 4 (2 critical)

Number of deaths: 1

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References

RNZ: Covid-19: What happened on 5 April

Mediaworks/Newshub: Coronavirus – New Zealand should consider quitting lockdown early, David Seymour says

Magic Talk Radio: Police Commissioner warns of stronger ‘enforcement action’ over Easter weekend

The Guardian: Australian jobseekers to get $550 payment increase as part of huge coronavirus welfare package

TVNZ: Armed Response Teams not being used for what Police said they would, ex-cop says

Fairfax/Stuff media: Coronavirus – PM, police Covid-19 warning – don’t go to your bach this Easter

NZ Herald: Covid 19 coronavirus – Policing Easter lockdown to include checkpoints

Mediaworks/Newshub: Police to arrest Easter holidaymakers who don’t comply with coronavirus lockdown rules

Mediaworks/Newshub: Coronavirus – Police warn checkpoints, extra patrols will be in place to stop Easter lockdown getaways

NewstalkZB: Covid 19 lockdown – Police setting up checkpoints over Easter

ODT – Star News: Cabin fever – Warning to stay away from holiday spots over Easter

RNZ: Covid-19 – Easter holidaymakers warned to stay home, away from bach

Trading Economics: Crude Oil

RNZ: Covid-19 – The key developments in New Zealand from April 8

RNZ: Number of new cases of Covid-19 continues to slowly fall

Must Read

Elemental: Hold the Line

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

Previous related blogposts

TVNZ: Simon Bridges calls on Government to quarantine, test everyone still arriving into NZ

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Acknowledgement: Emmerson

This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 10 April 2020.

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Categories: Global, The Body Politic Tags: Covid-19, Easter, level 4 lock down, police

Life in Lock Down: Day 13

8 April 2020 Frank Macskasy 3 comments

April 7: Day 13 of living in lock-down… and unlucky for those who are superstitious. A day when there was a ray of sunshine from an otherwise bleak day of worrying signs.

Today, as RNZ reported;

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield reported 54 new confirmed and probable cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today, bringing the total number of cases to 1160. Twelve people are in hospital and four are in intensive care, including one person who is in a critical condition.

Today’s new figure is down from the 67 new cases reported yesterday.

If that downward slip – from 67 new cases yesterday to 54 today – becomes a solid downward trajectory, then god knows it’s been worth it. The damage to our economy; the closure of businesses (some permanently); the loss of jobs; the billions borrowed to keep this country afloat; the likely crippling of our tourism industry; and the effort made by so many people to do the right thing during the four week lock-down…

It is a little thing, but something to hold on to.

Our heroic Prime Minister warned us;

“Now is not the time to change any of our behaviours.” – Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister, 7 April 2020

Because only after two weeks, irresponsible and supposedly mature adults, are calling for a relaxation of the lock-down.Many of those clamouring voices are from the business sector for whom – apparently – the Dollar trumps people’s lives.

Even while National Party Leader Simon Bridges was calling for tough quarantine measures of travellers arriving in our country, so as not to re-introduce the contagion into our community, his economic development spokesperson, MP Todd McClay, was calling for relaxation of our already porous lock-down shield;

“New Zealanders are doing there bit here, largely across the board the vast, the vast majority of people are respecting these rules. I think if the government says they trust people around self-isolation, that there will be ways for businesses to open up.

I think if you’re a clothing manufacturer, or a small business that’s working from home it can be contactless, you will show that you will adhere to and respect all of the Covid-19 health and safety rules, but we need to be doing everything you can to keep these businesses running.”

National’s inconsistancy of tough border controls and relaxed domestic lock-down will only achieve one thing: breathing life back into the contagion and giving the virus a second chance.

It would undo the last two weeks of sacrifice, for immediate gain.

It must not be allowed to happen. The government must be allowed to stay the course and the mainstream media must stop amplifying the steady stream of hystrionics from self-interested businesspeople like “Mad Butcher” group chief executive, Michael Morton. When interviewed by RNZ Morning Report’s Susie Ferguson on 7 April, he was unashamedly blunt;

“If you open up and doing 20% of your trade, well, you’re going to lose a significant amount of money.”

Anyone who thinks that businesses could open “and respect all of the Covid-19 health and safety rules” is delusional or feeble-minded. Even in supermarkets like Pak N Save, where aisles are wider than smaller retailers, there are still significant numbers of shoppers who pay little heed to the two-metre social-distancing rule.

Or joggers like this clown, today (7 April) who ran past two women on Oriental Parade – within elbow-touching proximity;

— despite the fact that Oriental Parade has a ridiculously wide footpath for pedestrians, joggers, and even bicyclists;

He just couldn’t be bothered maintaining a safe space between himself and the two women. And he’s not alone. This blogger has seen too many other people for whom maintaining safe “social distancing” is just not a priority. Even Simon Bridges “forgets” to keep to the two-metre rule;

People not keeping their distance is dangerously common at the supermarkets.

Add to that all the other retailers Todd McClay wants re-opened with added foot-traffic; people not respecting; safe “social distancing” etiquette and we have a recipe for disaster.

You can be assured of one, simple inalienable fact: if Jacinda Ardern and the government were to follow Todd McClay’s and the business community’s demands to re-open businesses, the results would be predictable: a resurgence in infection. People would get sick. People would die.

And people like Todd McClay would blame Jacinda Ardern.

Stay staunch, Ms Ardern. Lives depend on your steadfastness.

Meanwhile, my work day started with my usual drive past the Park’N’Ride on my street. There were just three cars present. A good start I thought.

Then getting on to the main road and onto the highway, I observed the commercial vehicles on the road around me; a “CMS” van; 5 ambulances; a flat deck light truck carrying stacks of beehives; a skip bin truck; 2 vans bearing the “ZAP!” logo (the driver of one van visibly in uniform, obviously working); a Kiwirail van; 2 “Downer” vans; a “Jina’s” fruit and vege van; a green “Toll” truck; a pest-control van (company name not visible); 3 police cars; an “AA” Road Service ute; “New World” delivery van; a “Rangitikei” free-range chicken van; “Nilfisk” van; a “Kiwi Green” marked van; a “Laser” plumbing van; a “Fulton Hogan” roadworks truck; a “OS” marked van; a “L.G. Anderson truck; a van marked “BBC” (bathroom company); a gravel hauling truck; 2 “JETS” covered trucks; a Mainfreight” truck; a “McAuley’s” container-truck; a “Strait NZ” van; an “Absolute Control” marked van; a white “Caffe L’affare” van; Wellington Regional Council ute; et al.

There were definitely more police cars visible and – worryingly – more ambulances.

The traffic north of Melling Interchange was once again light; three or four cars ahead or to my rear at any given time. Around Kelson, traffic increased to approximately a dozen cars in my immediate vicinity. By the Melling Interchange traffic was the heaviest I’ve seen it in two weeks with around two dozen vehicles around me. By Ngauranga, the “numbers continued to be “heavy” (heavy compared to the last two weeks). By the time I reached the Terrace Tunnel, traffic had thinned considera=bly to about half of what I had observed further north.

Courtney Place looked “dead”; nil traffic.

At Oriental Bay, people were cautioned not to stay on the beach with lit messages;

The weather was chilly with a blustery wind so it was unlike anyone would be sunning themselves on the sandy beaches today. A quick glance confirmed my thoughts: no one lounging on the sand.

But there were still plenty of joggers and like the fellow above, not all were showing courtesy by respecting the 2 metre distancing rule.

More worryingly; the Evans Bay Marina Carpark appeared to have even fewer freedom campers’ vehicles than the previous day;

The campers had clearly “up sticks” and moved on. Aside from international air travel, it is hard to think of a more efficient vector for viral transmission than freedom campers driving around New Zealand; stopping in small towns and larger cities; and passing on their infection.

To paraphrase Peter, Paul and Mary, Where Have All The Freedom Campers Gone? And should anyone be making enquiries? Do the rental companies install GPS trackers in their vehicles? If so, the information gleaned from those devices could be troubling.

Perhaps it is time for “freedom camping” – aka the “low end” of tourism – to be curtailed.

On the way to Miramar, the fifth police car in a day was parked on the center median strip on Cobham Drive (main route to Wellington Airport). Reassuring to see the Police around. Perhaps they could look into the mysterious Case of The Missing Campers?

Meanwhile, if we thought that Todd McClay; “Mad Butcher” group chief executive, Michael Morton; and other money-hungry nuts were bad enough, the Award for the most insanely irresponsible Person in Aotearoa New Zealand has to go to this prize fool:

The virus has not yet been eradicated; new infections are still happening; and Seymour wants the lock down lifted before the four weeks is up?! Is this man deranged?

Worse still is this comment from him;

“Every day that we are locked down people are losing money, they’re losing businesses, they’ve got mental health issues that are going to arise.”

Not only is he valuing money over people’s lives – but he is exploiting mental health as a cloak to give legitimacy to his despicable suggestion. In effect he’s saying, “Never mind the risk to others; we want to make money; or else we’ll blame our supposed poor mental health on this government and the PM.”

Cue: sob story on RNZ, Newshub, TVNZ, et al about “depressed” businessman who can’t make money.

Congratulation to Seymour for hitting rock-bottom. This is about as bad as it gets for a sleazy, opportunistic politician desperate for publicity and votes.

I’m not sure which is worse to be afraid off – the virus or a psycopath masquerading as a Member of Parliament. Maybe they’re related.

Current covid19 cases: 1,160

Cases in ICU: 4 (1 critical)

Number of deaths: 1

.

References

RNZ: Covid-19 – What happened on 7 April

RNZ: More industry and small businesses could reopen – National

RNZ: Coronavirus – Mad Butcher CEO claims government decisions hurt butchers

Mediaworks/Newshub: Simon Bridges admits he ‘should have been further apart’ from supermarket staff in photo shared online

Mediaworks/Newshub: Coronavirus – New Zealand should consider quitting lockdown early, David Seymour says

Must Read

Elemental: Hold the Line

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

Additional

RNZ: Covid-19 Pandemic Timeline

Previous related blogposts

RNZ: More industry and small businesses could reopen – National

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Acknowledgement: Rod Emmerson

This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 9 April 2020.

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Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: Covid-19, David Seymour, level 4 lock down, Todd McClay

Life in Lock Down: Day 12

7 April 2020 Frank Macskasy 2 comments

April 6: Day 12 of living in lock-down…

Another day of a near-empty Park N Ride carpark;

And another day of near-empty Wellington streets;

Light traffic on the motorway. No apparent increase in volume. Commercial vehicles sighted; a gravel-hauling truck; McAuley’s Transport; a tow-truck; “Dole”-branded truck; container-truck; another container truck, “McAuley’s”; “Downer” flat deck truck; a Hyundai traffic speed-camera van north of Kennedy Good Bridge; a police car at the Melling Interchange; a Waste Management truck; a skip-bin truck; 2 “Kiwirail” utes; 2 “New World” covered trucks; “Mainfreight” truck; “Noel Leeming” truck; an ambulance; “Rescue” ambulance; “EBT” container truck; “Chubb” van; “KAM” double tandem truck; “Super Freight” truck; 2 “Mainfreight” trucks; firefighting appliance; Traffic Management truck; “PTS” container truck; train-replacement bus; firewood truck (empty); “Salvation Army Family Store” truck; a bus with “driver training” illuminated signage; 2 unmarked road-works trucks; an unmarked covered truck; “Red Wolf” security van; “Toll” green truck; “Chemdry” van; ambulance with lights and siren; “Laser” plumbing van; another gravel hauling truck; another ambulance; and a “Chill” branded van. Commercial vehicles passing me on the other side of the road were not always able to be clearly identified.

Traffic north of Lower Hutt remaining light with only two or three vehicles on the motorway any one time. Approaching Melling Interchange, traffic was near non-existent. Traffic was equally light south of Petone with perhaps three in front and three to my rear. Traffic at Ngauranga was heavier as SH1 and SH2 merged. Even then, there appeared to be around eight in front and eight at behind me. Traffic at the Terrace tunnel was almost nil, one in front, one at back.

The price board at the “Z” service station in Vivian Street was still dark.

Heading to Miramar, it suddenly occurred to me that the Evans Bay Marina Carpark – almost always full with freedom camping vans- has nearly emptied out. Yet, it was full at the beginning of the lockdown.

It is clear that the occupants have decamped and have moved on. All in the last two weeks.

If this is how “freedom campers” show they are responsible tourists, then we are better off without this low-end part of the tourist industry. The temptation to “hit the road” and enjoy what little remained of their holiday seems to have been too much for them.

At my work, management has implemented a new plan to purchase supplies for clients. It is a good plan (albeit needing some tweaking to mitigate food safety risks), even though it’s taken two weeks to put in place.

Later that night, I’m driving through Wellington’s Arras Tunnel near the War Memorial. There is a road-marking work gang in the tunnel; two of the four lanes have been “coned off”, reducing to two lanes. The work gang is painting road markings.

I find this remarkable. Until now, the NZTA has stated that all normal road works have been suspended and only urgent, emergency work will be undertaken;

“In accordance with the Government guidance, major project work (Capital Works) is not seen as an essential service and work sites and workers have been stood down for four weeks.

Services to maintain the site can continue as essential services to ensure these sites remain safe. This includes things like traffic management and environmental controls. We will continue to manage and monitor environmental risks and traffic management plans to protect and ensure safety for the travelling public. It is crucial that we preserve the integrity of the asset and render worksites safe.”

Road markings are “Urgent work”?

Has the NZTA authorised this work or has the contractor decided to undertake some work-sneaking? I have emailed NZTA for clarification.

Throughout my entire day, from 9am to when I roll into my driveway at about 8.30, I sight only one police car all day. There were more police on the roads before the lock-down.

Meanwhile the National Party, various businesses, Simon Bridges, and David Clark lead the race to see who can be the most irresponsible.

Simon Bridges

His drive from Tauranga to Wellington exemplifies the sense of privilege and entitlement that pervades some people in our society. Mr Bridges justified his drive by citing his “constitutional” duties;

“I don’t take these things lightly, but I am the leader of the opposition, I’ve got constitutional duties, I’m running a committee in extreme circumstances where there is no Parliament.”

Is the virus aware of Mr Bridges’s “constitutional” duties?

Simon Bridges is unfit to lead this country. His display of an utter lack of judgement shows he has no future in politics.

He should and must resign before the next election.

David Clarke

As above.

Businesses

The Warehouse tried it on. So did Jenny Craig. Golf courses (for “mental health”!?). And even a sex shop. Plus umpteen other businesses.

Make no mistake: Every. Business. Is. Essential. Or so their owners and shareholders will insist.

“My business is not essential”, said no business-owner, share-holder ever.

They will cite overseas traders; poor families needing their services (which they only discover when it suits them); “mental health”; physical health; etc.

“Mad Butcher” group chief executive, Michael Morton, was interviewed by RNZ Morning Report’s Susie Ferguson on 7 April. He was quite blunt;

“If you open up and doing 20% of your trade, well, you’re going to lose a significant amount of money.”

We should be crystal clear on this: businesses want to open up their businesses to trade as normal – despite the world being in the grip of a deadly pandemic – not because they feel sorry for poor people not being able to buy warm blankets, beer, or play golf, or lose weight through weight-loss programmes; or buy sex-toys.

They want to open up to make money.

It’s that simple.

Don’t let businesses; their political allies; and self-serving deluded apologists tell you otherwise.

They want to make money.

And if, in the process, the pandemic spreads throughout the country and the body-bags start to pile up at mortuaries – they will deny all responsibility for their breath-taking selfishness and point the blame at Jacinda Ardern.

They want to make money. And they will do it over our dead or dying bodies.

The National Party

I swear, it seems to me that political ideology and sheer stupidity go hand-in-hand. Exhibit Number 1: National’s Todd McClay who is demanding that – essentially – all businesses be allowed to re-open. This would cut the lock-down from four weeks to two. Because if all businesses can claim to be “essential” (and what business isn’t “essential to it’s owners/shareholders?), then how is a lock-down a lock-down?

On 6 April, Mr McClay was bitterly complaining to RNZ’s Morning Report;

“The government needs to remain agile when it comes to allowing businesses to operate during the lockdown, if they can prove or show that they can do so safely.

To date the decision making has been too arbitrary and there are too many inconsistencies. For instance, allowing dairies to open but not local butchers or greengrocers, agriculture to continue but not forestry, cigarettes to be manufactured but community newspapers cannot be printed.

An example of this is Noel Leeming – they’re allowed to sell you a jug, but not a cell phone, but the person that’s packaging that … contactless sale that’s being delivered to the door, they’re already at work. Or the warehouse that’s allowed to sell you a car battery, not car polish.

We know that agriculture is functioning, I’d ask what’s the difference between that and forestry – an industry that is hugely important to the central North Island.

What is really crazy is that a supposedly well-educated, sane, intelligent person could endanger hundreds; thousands; tens of thousands of lives by advocating that businesses be allowed to re-open before the virus has been eradicated.

The breath-taking scale of Mr McClay’s short-sightedness should be seen for what it is: a danger to our own well-being and lives.

Through equal measures of quick action and pure luck, we have dodged (thus far) the covid19 bullet.

People like Mr McClay, Mr Bridges, certain right-wing commentators; and businesspeople would put us all back in the line of that bullet. They will put our safety and lives at risk for money.

These people are a menace.

Buzzword of The Day

National’s media minders have issued a new buzzword for their MPs to use. See if you can spot the “magic” word:

“Let’s try and deal with some of the randomness where one is an essential service and one isn’t, let’s be agile and potentially we can move to a more risk-based system.” – Simon Bridges, Leader, National Party, 5 April 2020

“The government needs to remain agile when it comes to allowing businesses to operate during the lockdown, if they can prove or show that they can do so safely.” – Todd McClay, National MP, Economic Development spokesperson, 6 April 2020

Simon Bridges and Todd McClay have forgotten that the virus can be even more agile.

Let me quote an expert who is very familiar with the threat we are facing

“The enemy we are facing is very good at what it does; we are not failing. We need everyone to hold the line as the epidemic inevitably gets worse. This is not an opinion. This is the unforgiving math of epidemics for which I and my colleagues have dedicated our lives to understanding with great nuance, and this disease is no exception. Stay strong and in solidarity knowing that what you are doing is saving lives, even as people continue getting sick and dying. You may feel like giving in. Don’t.

[…]

This outbreak will not be overcome in one grand, sweeping gesture, but rather by the collection of individual choices we make in the coming months. This virus is unforgiving to unwise choices. As this epidemic continues, it will be easy to be drawn to the idea that what we are doing isn’t working and we may feel compelled to “cheat” with unnecessary breaches of social distancing measures.” – Jonathan Smith, Infectious disease epidemiologist, 21 March 2020

Current covid19 cases: 1,106

Cases in ICU: 3 (1 critical)

Number of deaths: 1

.

References

RNZ: Bridges defends Wellington to Tauranga commute

RNZ: Coronavirus lockdown – Is the Warehouse an essential service?

RNZ: Jenny Craig defends stance as essential service

Fairfax/Stuff: Coronavirus – Golf clubs could perish if greenkeepers barred from caring for greens

Adult Toy Mega Store

RNZ: Coronavirus – Mad Butcher CEO claims government decisions hurt butchers

TVNZ: Jacinda Ardern does not want lockdown to last ‘a minute longer than needed’, but says it won’t finish early

NZTA: Roadworks and projects

Elemental: Hold the Line

RNZ: Covid-19 – What happened on 6 April

Must Read

Elemental: Hold the Line

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

Other Blogs

The Daily Blog: Why Jacinda MUST keep us locked up for 6 weeks

Previous related blogposts

RNZ: PM – David Clark ‘needs to be a role model’

.

Acknowledgement: Evans

This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 8 April 2020.

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Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: agile, Covid-19, David Clark, level 4 lock down, Mad Butcher, Todd McClay

Life in Lock Down: Day 11

6 April 2020 Frank Macskasy 19 comments

April 5: Day eleven of living in lock-down…

My one day of rest for the week, and an opportunity to mow my lawns – which I’d been delaying for about three weeks. (On the plus side, the damp micro-climate in my back yard yielded three lovely fresh mushrooms for breakfast today, along with chorizo sausage and two eggs.)

First up, TVNZ’s Q+A at 9am. A great interview with Dr Ayesha Verrall who said it was too early to tell how we were progressing with controlling cid19. We needed more data on community transmission, she said.

Dr Verrall was also concerned with how covid19 could be easily transmitted in lower socio-economic areas where low-income families were living in over-crowded housing.

She was forthright in advocating more restrictive practices, saying that the more retail outlets like Noel Leemings, Mitre10, etc, that were open to the public, the more gatherings would occur where transmission could take place.

In a crisis like this pandemic, it’s more worthwhile listening to scientists and medical professionals that business people and National Party politicians agitating for businesses to re-open earlier.

Following Dr Verrall was National Party Leader, Simon Bridges. He advocated full quarantining of arrivals to Aotearoa as well. Which would be fine except for a long time National was advocating tax cuts when faced with the growing pandemic crisis overseas. It was only after the government implemented a ban on all students from China that Mr Bridges fell in line with travel bans for people from affected nations.

Mr Bridges also strongly advocated more border controls; more testing; and more tracing. He made no mention of strengthening the lock-down and closure of non-essential businesses. He is mostly silent on the issue, as National is well known for it’s strong link to the business community.

Interestingly, the Word of the Day for Simon Bridges seemed to be “agile”; used so many times during the interview that this blogger lost count. “Let’s be agile” and variations thereof was his mantra.

An interview with ACT MP; libertarian, and spokesperson for promoting the spread of the covid19 virus, David Seymour followed. His concern for privacy and individual liberties would be laughable considering ACT’s past support for increasing surveillance powers for the GCSB, Police, and SIS.

The covid19 virus would like to thank Mr Seymour for his support.

Following David Seymour, Dr Mel Bunce from the University of London gave her thoughts on the state of the media, as revenue from advertising dried up, weakening the fourth estate when it was needed most to report on the worst epidemic in 102 years.

She suggested that the proposed merger of NZME and Stuff was a two-edged sword. On the one hand a larger corporate entity might weather the current economic melt-down better than two smaller companies.

But on the other hand, she pointed to Bauer Media Group suffering financially and closing many of Aotearoa’s most well-known magazines as it withdrew it’s operations. She said a similar fate to a merged NZME/Stuff could close up to 90% of the country’s media.

Rodney Jones from Wigram Capital Advisors offered his insights and research that China had under-reported deaths in their country by up to 40,000. He said we could not look to China for solutions because we coulkd not trust their data. He suggested that China will have negative GDP this year.

He also questioned how the pandemic would impact on globalisation – echoing the sentiments by others that the virus would do to neo-liberalism which progressives had failed to achieve.

Jack Tame finished the programme with a statement that Q+A would be doing another episode during Easter (unlike it’s counterpart on TV3).

After lunch, sticking to the stay at home,exercise locally protocol I went for a walk around the block. The weather was fine and it was perfect to enjoy the quiet of a Level 4 Lock Down Sunday.

Unable to procrastinate any longer, it was time to pull out the lawn-mower and attack three (more like four?) weeks of turf growth.It’s unfair, I said to some passers-by: lawn-mowing should not be required during the Virus Apocalypse…

Did Bruno Lawrence have to mow his lawns in The Quiet Earth? Will Smith in I am Legend? Charlton Heston in The Omega Man? Grass continues to grow despite the slow collapse of civilisation-as-we-know-it…

At 1pm, Jacinda Ardern and Ashleigh Bloomfield make a televised address to the country. The latest figures are disclosed. There are more cases of covid19 and two more infection “clusters”.

Worryingly three people are in ICU – two are critical. Our death toll may rise.

Ms Ardern then made a rare departure from form, referring to “idiots” who are not taking the crisis seriously. She refers to the moron in Dunedin who deliberately coughed and sneezed at people whilst filming himself and uploading it onto social media. He has since been arrested and charged.

Standing on my front lawn at 1.55 – just in time to see a “boy”-racer (in late 20s, early 30s? too old to be a “boy” racer?) roar past at high speed. Seconds later, the sound of a police siren and a police car appears from around the corner, flying past in hot pursuit.

“He went that way!” thumb pointing, as I ‘helpfully’ called out to the police car (it was unlikely he heard me in the 1 second he sped by).

Who said that lock-downs were boring? I was witnessing a live-action episode of “Police Ten-Seven” in front of my own house!

(The one positive thing about near empty streets? Police chases become less problematic with fewer vehicles on the road and pedestrians out and about.)

That evening, I ‘Skyped’ my parents. They are in self-isolation. The pandemic affects their region as well.

With their age and under-lying medical conditions, a covid19 infection would make life very hard for them. It took a while to explain what Aotearoa’s lock-down meant and why only (supposedly) essential services were allowed to open. I described what a “bubble” meant and how – if it was religiously followed – it would stop the virus from transmitting to others. I explained it was legally backed up by a declaration of a State of Emergency and the edict to stay home and exercise locally was not a Take-It-Or-Leave-It choice (David Clark, take note!).

My youngest sibling, who has severe multiple sclerosis, is in strict quarantine by his carers. For him, covid19 would be an automatic, quick death sentence.

Following my parents, I ‘Skyped’ my partner. It’s been nearly three weeks since I last saw her in person. It was a joy to see her face and we spent half an hour or more sharing what we had done today; the short-lived excitement of witnessing a police-chase in my own street. There was cheeky banter exchanged and our plans for tomorrow. She is still working long hours for her organisation, though it’s done from home by phone, ‘Skype’, or video conferencing.

Tomorrow we begin Week 3 of lock-down.

Whether or not we begin to control the virus and see fewer people fall victim to it depends on what we do collectively. In short, it’s up to us.

Current covid19 cases: 1,039

Cases in ICU: 3 (2 critical)

Number of deaths: 1

.

References

RNZ: Covid-19 – What happened on 5 April

Must Read

Elemental: Hold the Line

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

Other Blogs

The Daily Blog: What kind of Police State do you call this? Why Faafoi & Clark should get slapped and what the hell is the CTU doing?

Previous related blogposts

RNZ: Covid-19 – Major magazine publisher Bauer Media closing down

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Acknowledgement: Evan

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This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 7 April 2020.

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Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: Covid-19, David Clark, level 4 lock down

Life in Lock Down: Day 10

5 April 2020 Frank Macskasy 22 comments

April 4: Day 10 of living in lock-down…

I wake up to a fine Saturday morning which normally would be like an early Christmas. But it’s Day 10 of Level 4 Lock Down. What will my fellow New Zealanders be doing on a day like this – staying home in lock-down, or venturing out en-masse to every park, walk-way, beach, river side they can find? The TAB won’t be taking bets on that question (if they were open).

Today would be a perfect day to mow the lawns. As someone kindly pointed out to me recently, I’ve neglected them for two weeks too long. Mind you, the damp micro-climate on my back yard “lawn” has produced half a dozen mushrooms thus far…

Today is not lawn-mowing day. I’m filling in for a colleague who has been pulled off duties with our clients when it was realised his wife worked at a major supermarket and he helped out on-site. In effect his “bubble includes our six clients; six of his colleagues (including me) and several hundred Wellingtonians who are customers at the supermarket his wife works at.

“Not optimal” would be an understatement. The masks, latex gloves, hand-washing, and wiping our shoes’ soles with disinfectant would be meaningless with the extent of his contact with so many other people.

So I’m doing his shift this afternoon/evening, making it a six day working week.

If any of us catch the virus, I suspect we’ll all be pulling a six or even seven day working week. Best not to think about it.

Wake up in time to catch Simon Shepherd on Newshub Nation on TV3.

First up was Grant Robertson. While I have utmost respect for the gentleman and the hellish job (matched only by our own Wonder Woman, Prime Minister Ardern), he doesn’t add much new to what we already know.

There’s some persistent questioning about why the government didn’t step in to buy Bauer Media Group’s magazines (The Listener, Metro, Woman’s Weekly, et al) that it closed on 2 April.

Bizarre. It has taken an unseen micro-organism to bring down the mighty pillars of neo-liberalism, with a clamour that the State acquire (for $1!) part of a magazine empire. The blessed irony of it all; state-owned media! Only a handful of other countries exist where the State owns or controls media publications.

In only thirtysix years the neo-liberal edifice of the free market has come crashing down. To paraphrase H.G. Wells, the free-market neo-liberal system was…

“…slain by the putrefactive and disease bacteria against which their systems were unprepared; slain as the red weed was being slain; slain, after all [progressive movement’s] devices had failed, by the humblest things that God, in his wisdom, has put upon this earth.”

This time, the “humblest thing” that slew the free market was not bacteria, but an even smaller, more distant cousin, the virus.

Even the Soviet Union last twice as long.

To drive home the point of the utter failure of the neo-liberal system, Finance Minister Robertson pointed out just how fortunate we were that the mania for “small government” by the Right had not been implemented in this country.

Host Simon Shepherd asked;

Simon Shepherd: “Is there a risk that at the end of this we’re going to be a nation with has a massive public sector and not much private enterprise?“

Grant Robertson: “No, I don’t believe so. The New Zealand private sector was robust and strong and full of innovative people coming into covid19, and it will be on the other side.

I think what we have learned out of this is that having a robust public sector is vitally important when you have a crisis like this, and so that will be important.“

Grant Robertson also made it clear that the tourism sector would have to change after this crisis was over. We certainly need to wind back the foot traffic currently trampling over the countryside. Add to that the hyper-commercialisation of our tertiary sector which is heavily reliant on students from other countries to pay our education bill (and is often a back-door conduit for high levels of immigration which our infrastructure is ill-designed to cope with).

Perhaps it’s little wonder that Simon Bridges’ earlier strident calls for tax cuts had fallen on deaf ears. People could see with their own eyes what was happening in China, then Europe, and now the United States. A strong collective response – in the form of The State – could be the only viable defence against a fast-spreading pandemic. People understood that a few extra bucks in our wallets/purses was hardly going to protect us from an invisible enemy.

Simon Bridges didn’t just “not read the room” – he was in the wrong bloody building.

Newshub Nation presented a wide range of interviews and the case of Jess Delabarca was an example that the contagion could affect any of us, young or old. The young may be “bullet proof”, but not “virus proof”.

One of the two panellists, Professor in Politics and International Relations, Jennifer Curtin, expressed her shock at Bauer Media Group’s sudden closure. She also pointed out it was difficult for the State to buy/bail out one private media company – without then supporting the entire sector. In effect, the free market model would be utterly turned on it’s head, with the State acquiring one distressed company after another.

The late Robert Muldoon’s dire warning in his “Dancing Cossacks” political ad that “one day the State would own everything and you know what that’s called” – was wrong in only one respect. The companies themselves were clamouring for a State/taxpayer buy-out.

The capitalists were jumping ship, having hit an invisible viral iceberg.

At the conclusion of the programmwe, Host Simon Shepherd announced that Newshub Nation was taking a “break for Easter and would be back in two weeks. Which, considering that the entire world is facing an apocalypse, was an optimistic view. Hopefully there will be a live audience to watch his programme in two weeks time.

On the way into work, it was another moment to observe the streets around me…

The railway Park’N’Ride carpark was empty;

The white motorhome, first noticed on 31 March parked on a major thoroughfare toward SH2 was still parked in front of the same property – but had moved – now facing the opposite way;

Spotted long the way; three ambulances; a double-tandem gravel-hauling truck; a “New World” delivery van; a “Pacific” double-tandem fuel tanker; a patient-transfer ambulance SUV; “Fulton Hogan truck; and a “Newbolds” van.

As if a weekend from the 1970s, there appeared to be few commercial vehicles on the road. What little traffic consisted of mostly ordinary motorcars.

The traffic on SH2 was still light; approximately four cars ahead, and a similar number behind me. Traffic became lighter to the north of the Melling lights. Arriving closer to Wellington on the motorway, traffic thinned out even more, with perhaps three or four cars ahead, and similar to my rear.

The day was beautifully sunny, a near perfect summery day though we’re now feeling the chills of autumn. Though the harbour was placid and calm there were no recreational boats of any kind on the water. Yachties and other recreational boaties seemed to be heeding the call to stay of the water.

At the Terrace tunnel, there were six on-coming cars, nothing to my rear.

Driving through Wellington, vehicular traffic was light to non-existent. Not the busy times pre-Lock-down, when roads were busier on Saturdays than during the working week. Bicyclists were out and about, with two or three around me at any one time. There were plenty of strollers enjoying the lovely weather but not many observing the two metre rule.

Approaching Chaffers Street New World supermarket, I noticed shoppers carrying their re-usable shopping bags and – fresh cut flowers? A brief stop at New World confirmed my observation – the supermarket was selling flowers;

A florist was supplying the retailer with fresh flowers. An “essential” service?! Oh hell, why not. Sex shops , weight loss industry, and golf courses all think they’re essential as well. In capitalism, everyone thinks their business is essential. The stench of self-entitlement – like affluent yachties flocking to their holiday homes – is pervasive.

The longer people willfully flout the lock-down the longer this crisis will be with us. The longer law-abiding citizens will have to live with the massive upset to their lives whilst others are enjoying their impromptu holiday. The more people will get sick.

And the greater the likelihood that the death toll will rise.

I liken those who flout the lock down as those who drink and drive. They endanger others with their recklessness.

If this worsens, it’ll be time to borrow a leaf from our Aussie cuzzies and go hard on those who are putting the rest of us at risk;

I don’t care what excuses – usually concern for poor families – are put forward. Having retail outlets such as The Warehouse open for public trading will be an open conduit for the transmission of the virus. If low income people need blankets, heaters, and other winter-ralated goods, let them be distributed free of charge by the State. The greater the need, the lower the cost should be commensurately.

If the State can subsidise private companies and their employees we can assist those at the bottom of the socio-economic heap.

Continuing my drive to work, I took the Oriental Bay route. I saw a light-sign asking people;

“Enjoy your beach walk but don’t linger”

— clearly a reference to people previously congregating on the beach, often in close proximity, and adding to the threat of viral transmission.

Most people were doing the right thing, with only a couple of dozen people on the sand and two in the water;

As I drove around the bays, another observation struck me. Where pedestrian numbers were heavy, the 2-metre physical distancing rule was mostly ignored. Where pedestrian traffic was more sparse, people made more effort to walk around each other.

In effect, where physical distancing was most needed, it was less employed.

Another reason to minimise and restrict retail outlets opening and recreational activities that attract crowds.

I also noticed a fair number of bicyclists riding on the footpath, making it harder for pedestrians to physically distance themselves from the riders. Which was mystifying considering the near lack of vehicular traffic on the roads. At this point in time, bicyclists could practically “own the roads”.

Arrive at work. Carry out formal sanitising protocol before entering premises; sanitise hands; wipe shoes with disinfectant; send call to unlock gate. Inside, re-wash hands with hot water and soap. Routine completed, work begins. Remember to re-stock my satchel with latex gloves and ASTM Level 1 mask. (The latter offers minimal protection. Practically pointless to wear it when outside. But with so many people flouting lock-down protocols, any protection is better than going out “naked”.)

The afternoon and evening passes quickly. All clients are reasonably health, except one. He is diabetic T2, obese, and in poor health. He is suffering diabetes related complications. He is nil symptomatic of covid19 but if he caught it, my belief is that it would be a death sentence. Luckily the facility is in total lock-down – even management are banned from entering (and this has been rigorously enforced).

I work in close proximity to him. If he is infected, it will be on my conscience.

It is night by the time I leave.It is again deathly quiet. No pedestrians. No vehicular traffic. No sound of cars, trucks, or motorbikes. The airport is silent. It is a deathly silence I’m still finding hard to get used to.

Except for the lights on in houses along the street, I could be the last human on Earth.

And something else… smells I never noticed before. Without low vehicle and almost no aircraft emissions, the air is cleaner than ever. There is a subtle sweet smell in the air. Flowers? Perfume?

I sanitise my hands in the car.

The trip home is uneventful. Along the motorway I do a rough count of vehicles-per-kilometre: two.

I see four ambulance on my trip homes. One bus. Three police cars (two of which are attending an incident by the Kilbirnie Fire Station). There is a Hyundai radar-van parked on the side of the motorway just south of he motorway. Pointless, considering the near non-existant traffic. It’ll be slim picking tonight for traffic enforcement/revenue gathering. Another police car sighted on SH2, lights flashing, parked behind a car that may have broken down.

Then home. Shoes are removed and left outside (a habit I’ve always practiced); open door; straight into the bathroom to wash my hands. Keys wiped with disinfectant.

“Dinner” is light. It’s too late to cook anything so it’s cold left-overs.

Tomorrow, it’s a day off. Watch TVNZ’s Q+A; mow the lawns; go for a walk along my street. Rest.

Postscript:

As the Bauer Group exploit the covid19 crisis lock down and close down a long list of well-known magazine titles, this letter to the editor in the April 4-10 edition (the last ?), by former Minister of Communications, Ian Shearer, was published. It appeared before Bauer Group made their announcement to shut down The Listener and reads almost like an epitaph dripping with irony;

Acknowledgement: @BarbSturmfels

~~Mr Shearer was a minister in the Lange-led government which initiated the mad craze of privatising state-owned (ie; owned by you and me) assets. Like The Listener.~~ [Blogger’s correction: Ian Shearer was actually a Minister in the Muldoon-led National government from 1975 to 1984. Apologies for the error. – Frank Macskasy]

Like privatising and re-nationalising Air New Zealand several times over, it hasn’t worked out well, has it?!

Current covid19 cases: 950

Number of deaths: 1

.

References

Mediaworks/Newshub: Coronavirus – Grant Robertson hints at potential rent freeze for business

Wikiquotes: H.G. Wells

Adult Toy Mega Store

RNZ: Jenny Craig and storage facility staff told they are essential service

Fairfax/Stuff: Coronavirus – Golf clubs could perish if greenkeepers barred from caring for greens

RNZ: Resident furious outsiders ignoring lockdown to use holiday homes

Smart Company: Business owner fined $5000 as NSW Police enforce coronavirus lockdowns

NSW Gov Clinical Excellence Commission: Application of PPE in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

RNZ: Covid-19 wrap – What happened on 4 April

Must Read

Elemental: Hold the Line

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

Previous related blogposts

RNZ: Jenny Craig defends stance as essential service

.

Acknowledgement: Sharon Murdoch

This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 6 April 2020.

= fs =

Categories: Global, Social Issues Tags: Bauer Media Group, Covid-19, Ian Shearer, level 4 lock down, physical distancing, privatisaton, The Listener

Life in Lock Down: Day 9

4 April 2020 Frank Macskasy 1 comment

April 3: Day 9 of living in lock-down…

Another late-start to my work day. Everything is temporarily upended as clients are shuffled around so we can minimise our “bubble” by reducing the number of people we help. One of my colleagues has been removed from his clients; his wife works for a super-market and he helps out with her work as well.

I feel sorry for him. But it’s too much of a risk. He could easily carry something back to older clients – many of who have some serious underlying medical conditions. Several would not survive a covid19 infection.

As per my usual route, I drive past the Park’N’Ride carpark: only three cars.

The white motorhome is still parked where I first noticed it on 31 March.

Onto SH2 for the now quick ride into Wellington. It’s around mid-day. Traffic seems… marginally “busier”? By “busier”, I mean an increase from three of four vehicles on the road with me, to six or eight. And it seems to be more cars than commercial trucks, vans, etc. I hope it’s my imagination.

Noting commercial vehicles; an “InterGroup” branded truck carrying a holding tank and heavy pumping equipment; an ambulance; a large, empty scrap metal haulage double-tandem truck (essential?! really?!); “Countdown-branded covered truck; a Highway Patrol police car parked on the side of the motorway (one of only two police cars I see throughout the entire day); a “Bidfood” truck; “McFall” oil tanker truck; a skip-bin truck (empty); 4 “Mainfreight” trucks; “ACM” security truck; “Steinlager” branded truck; a “Chemdry” van (carpets gotta be cleaned even during a virus apocalypse so we meet our Maker with clean shagpile); “Frost”-branded van; a fire-fighting appliance and fire service van, on the side of the motorway; two container-hauling trucks (empty); a “FMS – Food Machinary” service van; “New World” branded truck; a “Waste Management” truck; a hi-ab truck carting heavy metal/iron machine parts; “Beaurepaires” van; an empty hi-ab flat deck truck; “Hirepool” truck; more roadworks with “Fulton Hogan” vehicles, north of The Terrace tunnel; a “Bosco” heavy-gravel hauling truck; in the city, a “Dawson”s grease-trap truck; a SCL Wellington (laboratories) car; a MTA car; a “Cricket Wellington” car in Vivian Street.

In Miramar, a van branded with “Vital” is parked in a spot and I’m fairly certain it wasn’t there yesterday. The garish orange colouring makes it hard to blend in with other vehicles nearby and kinda gives it away. Another individual or business for whom the lock-down is non-applicable?

On the radio, RNZ was carrying a story that Moodys credit rating agency had left New Zealand’s sovereign-rating unchanged. As a foreign financial website reported;

In its latest review report on New Zealand’s (NZ) sovereign credit ratings, Moody’s Investors Service affirmed the NZ long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings at Aaa and maintained the stable outlook.

“The drivers behind the rating affirmation include Moody’s assessment of New Zealand’s strong governance, including sound monetary and fiscal institutions with track records of proactive and effective policymaking.

[…]

Moody’s expects the New Zealand economy to remain resilient in the face of shocks, given its trade openness, diverse and competitive agricultural export base, flexible labor and product markets, high wealth levels, and favorable demographics, driven by robust migration trends.”

That made me smile. Aside from not being the news National would like to hear (because it made the Labour-led government look like sound fiscal managers) – it stood in stark contrast for when the Key-led government racked up a massive debt of at least $71.6 billion by June 2011 – three years after it had taken office.

Splurging on borrowing billions after two unaffordable tax cuts in 2009 and 2010, two other ratings agencies (Standard & Poors and Fitch downgraded New Zealand’s sovereign credit ratings thereafter.

All the while, the current government will be borrowing at least $25 billion to keep the economy afloat.

The lesson from this is simple enough; the capitalists on Wall Street were not impressed with National having to borrow to sustain their promised tax cuts. (In effect, National borrowed other people’s savings to put money into our back pockets. A quasi-socialist money transfer under the cloak of “tax cuts”. )

The capitalists on Wall Street, however, recognise that the current government is borrowing, not for consumption, but for stimulus. The difference is subtle, but nevertheless, real.

Meanwhile, focusing back on the road…

Despite only emergency road works supposedly permitted during the lock down, a roading gang with vehicles was operating just north of the Ngauranga inter4change. “Downer” vans were parked nearby.

Driving in toward the city, a low cloud-fog had enveloped most of the entrance to the harbour and eastern suburbs. Irony of ironies, even without covid19, the airport would have been closed this afternoon;

The Terrace Tunnel which, in the last few days was almost empty, had more traffic today. At least six or eight cars were present any one time as I drove through.

There seemed fewer people on the streets. Hardly surprising; it was a gray, over-cast day and entering the city it began to lightly drizzle. Not a day for a casual stroll through the city, lock down or not.

At Kilbirnie Pak N Save, a client required assistance with their shopping. This is not a task normally assigned to us – but these are unusual times requiring different solutions. Even with careful management by Pak N Save staff, to prevent over-crowding in the supermarket aisles, there were still “bottlenecks”; places where popular products were kept on shelves.

The two-metre phyical distancing rule became also impossible to maintain. This was not just because a small number ignored the protocol – but because one person in the middle of an aisle effectively blocked it with their two-metre “bubble”.

Which was sufficient to give real cause for concern to let smaller retail outlets open, or even larger outlet which had narrower aisles than a supermarket.

Meanwhile, it wasn’t just butchers, Jenny Craig, storage facilities, and sundry assorted other businesses clamouring for the coveted title of “essential service”.

Next in line; golf courses;

As of Monday, the Covid-19 website’s list of additional services stated: “Turf maintenance is not considered an essential service and should not be undertaken at this time.”

NZG have asked for essential and critical maintenance to be carried out in a solo manner by an individual, who either lives on course or outside the golf facility.

[…]

“We know the government is trying to save lives here. Obviously growing grass isn’t that, but we’re worried about the damage at the end of it,” Murphy said.

“If we can do a little bit of essential maintenance by individuals doing solo work, we think that’s a reasonable exemption.”

[…]

“Our greens are our babies and if we stay away from those for too long there will be repercussions down the other end with job losses and probably club closures,” New Zealand Golf Course Superintendents Association president Steve Hodson said.

Is there anyone in Aotearoa New Zealand who isn’t running an “essential service”?!

Who is next in line? Sex toy shops?

Oh, wait… it had to happen.

Meanwhile, as some people have yet to understand the full deadly nature of this disease, there are now over a million cases of covid19 worldwide, and nearly 53,000 people have died.

By sheer fortune, we have (thus far) escaped the worst of it.

Golf courses can be fixed up. Jenny Craig can temporarily halt peddling its illusory promises of a svelte figure. None of which is worth a single human life.

Tonight, after I left Wellington, heading home, I realised I could no longer avoid going to the supermarket for my own grocery needs. Like something out of a Stephen King supernatural thriller, supermarkets have become a place of dread. Especially as we learn how easily the covid19 virus can be transmitted by a cough or sneeze. Or even – as it may be the case – by exhaling.

For the second time today, I “suit up” in my most-basic hazmat protective gear: a pair of blue latex gloves and a paper face mask that may or may not work.

And there’s three more weeks (at least!) of this to go.

Current covid19 cases: 868

Number of deaths: 1

.

References

FX Street: Moody’s affirms New Zealand’s Aaa rating, maintains stable outlook – NZD/USD retests highs

Fairfax/Stuff media: Government debt rises to $71.6 billion

New Zealand Debt Management Office: New Zealand Sovereign Credit Ratings

Fairfax/Stuff media: Coronavirus – Government doubles borrowing forecast as economy worsens

Mediaworks/Newshub: Coronavirus – Exclusion of butchers as essential service will cause ‘animal welfare crisis’ says pork sector

RNZ: Jenny Craig and storage facility staff told they are essential service

Fairfax/Stuff: Coronavirus – Golf clubs could perish if greenkeepers barred from caring for greens

Adult Toy Mega Store

RNZ: Covid-19 – Confirmed global cases pass one million

Science News: Just breathing or talking may be enough to spread COVID-19 after all

RNZ: Covid-19 update – 71 new cases, down from yesterday’s high, but clusters increase

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