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# WHO Director-General: Lockdowns Unsustainable
- URL: https://goodoil.news/who-director-general-lockdowns-unsustainable/
- Published: 2020-08-22T21:45:00.000Z
- Updated: 2024-07-19T17:06:58.000Z
- Author: Press Releases
- Tags: COVID-19, Election 2020, NZ, NZ Politics, Politics, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2024-07-17 03:00

Press Release: **ACT Party**

“A consensus is growing for a Wellbeing Approach to tackling COVID-19 with the Director-General of the World Health Organisation calling lockdowns unsustainable,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

Yesterday, [Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said](https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---21-august-2020?ref=goodoil.news): *‘We must all learn to control and manage this virus using the tools we have now…lockdowns are not a long-term solution for any country.’*

“We’ve lost sight of the costs and uncertainty created by lockdowns and we need to ask how elimination can be made affordable.

“A Wellbeing Approach to COVID-19 considers all of the costs of fighting COVID-19 in a world where we can’t guarantee against an outbreak.

**“It’s not affordable or sustainable to continue with rolling lockdowns.**

“Being free of COVID-19 is just one dimension of wellbeing. We also have to think about a generation of students’ one shot at life-defining exams, the mental health of small business owners run ragged, non-COVID healthcare such as missed elective surgeries, and families who can’t travel to Auckland for funerals.

“Then there are financial costs. If we take one estimate from a major bank, a **Level 3 lockdown in Auckland costs $440 million a week.** 16 days is $1 billion. That is Pharmac’s entire budget for all taxpayer-funded medicine for a year.

“The goal of ACT’s Wellbeing Approach is to reduce costs and uncertainty and make the elimination strategy affordable.

ACT’s policy is:

• New Zealand Epidemic Response Unit: Based on Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Centre  
• Government as referee, not player: Allow alternative facilities for safe, electronically-monitored isolation, with strict punishment for rule-breakers  
• Risk-weighted: Treat different countries and travellers with different levels of caution  
• Technology-driven: Such as COVID card, ëlarm, rapid tests, temperature checks and thermal cameras  
• Continuous improvement: Constantly compare ourselves with the best and seek to strengthen our resistance.“If we want to enhance New Zealanders’ overall wellbeing, we must get a lot smarter. If we take a broad-based approach and remain aware of all aspects of wellbeing, then we will be truly better off in every sense.

A Party Vote for ACT is a vote to tackle COVID-19 intelligently.”

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