COVID-19 Update & Prime Minister’s Statement: 23 March 2020

Prime Minister’s statement:

• Alert Level 3 now in place immediately
• PM will issue an epidemic notice and will move country to a national civil defence emergency
• Two cases of possible community spread.
• Potential for cases to double every five days.
• Reviewed in 48 hours, will go to Level 4 on Wednesday.
• Non-essential businesses must now close.
• No indoor or outdoor events
• Only supermarkets and other essential services will remain open.
• Schools now closed from tomorrow except for children of essential works workers.
• Work from home where possible.
• You can leave your home for fresh air, exercise outside only spending time with others in your household. Maintain 2m spread between people.
• Air travel only for people undertaking essential services.
• Air travel stopped in 48 hrs.
• No interislander except for essential services.
• Contact tracing and testing of Covid patients will continue
• Slower transmission means areas moved out of level 4 over time
• In short term virus will rise but new measures will slow the virus donw
• Measures in place for 4 weeks
• No exit date given but at least 4 weeks
• Non compliance means these measures will be in place for longer.
• Ardern: “Medical modelling seen by Cabinet today suggests that if these measures are not undertaken tens of thousands of Kiwis could die because of Covid-19.”
• PM will stay in Wellington, ministers to work from home
• No Grand Coalition on table
• Election date remains at this stage

Finance Minister Statement

• $150k cap gone. All business eligible
• Self employed eligible too
• Every employee who is unable to work from home and is non-essential will be covered.
• Expansion cost expanded to $9.1 Billion
• Government implements rent freeze and will work out some kind of loan protection scheme
• No cause terminations of tenancies banned
• Further income support for employees planned for Alert Level 4
• There is also some form of loan protection being worked on.

Education Minister & Leader of the House Statement:

• Schools and early childcare close from tomorrow
• Tertiary institutions to close ASAP
• Funding in sector remains
• Teleconference for Parliament business committee tomorrow.
• Parliament will meet next Wednesday.
• Motion to suspend all non-essential business before parliament
• Plans to adjourn parliament on Wednesday.
• No plans to recall parliament for at least 4 weeks.

New Zealand is now at Level 3 to stop and eradicate COVID-19.

At risk people

People over 70 years of age, people who have compromised immunity or people who have underlying respiratory conditions should stay at home as much as they can.

At risk people include:

• Those over 70: Older people often have underlying health issues, including respiratory issues that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19.
• People with medical conditions: Underlying medical conditions can make you more vulnerable to COVID-19. In particular, people with respiratory conditions, such as COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), heart conditions, high blood pressure, kidney problems and diabetes.
• People undergoing a treatment for cancer and blood conditions: As treatments for cancer and blood conditions affect people’s immune systems, this makes them more vulnerable to COVID-19.
• Pregnant women: Health experts do not yet know if pregnant women are impacted by COVID-19 in the same way as other people. However, pregnant women experience changes in their bodies that may increase their risk from some infections.
• People without easy access to healthcare

Download a poster asking people not enter your building(external link)

Find out more about COVID-19

For some of new Zealand’s communities, other aspects of their lives may mean they are also at risk. This includes:

• Residents of aged care facilities: Aged care facilities are susceptible to rapid transmission of viruses like this. Residents are more susceptible to illnesses due to their age and they are also more likely to have underlying health conditions.

Ministry of Health briefing:

• 36 new cases confirmed.
• Total is now 102.
• Over  half of the new cases are directly related to overseas travel, while  the remaining two are being treated as community transmission.
• Over 1200 tests were carried out on Sunday. A total of 7400 have been carried out overall.
• The  ministry was also completing a stocktake of ICU capacity, which would  be publicly released. Bloomfield said he was “encouraged” by the  stocktake so far.
• People who were continuing to go to bars, cafes and restaurants and treating Covid-19 as a bad flu should “get with the programme” and play their part in helping to restrict the virus’ spread.

• Alert Level 2 remains in place at this stage.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush to Lead New Police Taskforce

The Police have established a new task-force to assist with enforcing tough restrictions that are likely to be implemented shortly:

The  head of a new Government coronavirus task-force says people should ring  the police if they see people or venues obviously flouting rules around  social distancing or self-isolation.

Outgoing Police Commissioner Mike Bush has been appointed to lead the  new operational taskforce to fight the virus, which has now infected 66  in New Zealand.

The taskforce would take in all pillars of Government – not just  police, with about 70 officials homed on Wellington’s Lambton Quay at  the Evidence Based Policing Centre.

But  police were a crucial part of the response with increased patrols in  high-risk areas for coronavirus infections, particularly if the the new  “alert level” rose from level two upwards.

“Whatever settings are put in place, we will be there to enforce compliance,” Bush told RNZ.

Sounds ominous.

Teaching Council Wants Schools Closed

Stuff reports:

The Teaching Council has called for all schools and daycare centres to shut down immediately to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday, Teaching  Council chief executive Lesley Hoskin made the call which she said was  on behalf of 130,000 teachers.

The closure should be immediate, she said.

“As the voice of teachers, the council, on behalf of all teachers, implores you to act now and to move to Alert Level 4, closing early childhood centres and schools.

Sir Peter Gluckman Says NZ Needs to Go into ‘Extreme Shutdown’

NZ Herald reports:

The Prime Minister’s former chief science adviser, Sir  Peter Gluckman, is warning the Government that it needs to do more to  respond to Covid-19.

In a tweet, he said: “The evidence  is mounting that the best thing NZ could do is make the hard decision  to go to extreme shutdown now.”

“The number of new cases coming from offshore means community transmission will get established without absolute precaution.”

New Zealand is at level on the official alert system – a full lockdown  would mean the country would need to be moved up to level four.

COVID-19 – current cases

Information about current cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand.

Last updated 4:20 pm, 23 March 2020.