One selfless act helped us all

Praise from a podium can sometimes be a dutiful thing, dispensed appropriately enough but without particular ardour. But there was a real hand-on-heart aspect to the commendation for one individual at Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director-general of Health Ashley Bloomfield’s press conference yesterday.

The unnamed patient drew a passing tribute, tinged with palpable relief, for their reaction after developing Covid-19 symptoms in unexpected circumstances, having emerged with the requisite two negative tests following a fortnight spent in managed isolation.

Here was a case that absolutely highlights the importance of the individual in our present circumstances.

It’s hardly as if this patient, and their family, showed any remarkable inventiveness or initiative. That wasn’t required. But by heading directly into self-isolation and promptly getting tests, they did as all those who pass through managed isolation are asked.

And how significant it proved to be. The potential is always there that someone who has already been through the restrictions of isolation might be tempted to pretend – and pretence it would be – that the symptoms weren’t there, or in any case that they weren’t potentially such a big deal.

Which they were. The upshot of this dutiful but diligent behaviour from one person and their family was an upside for the nation.

The case had cast a shadow of uncertainty over the earlier-signalled stepdowns in the Covid-19 alert levels, to level 2 for Auckland and level 1 for the rest of the country. But the necessary reassurances were promptly able to be recorded.

This, as Bloomfield said, was exactly the sort of vigilance that will help us keep ahead of the virus. True that.

In fact knighthoods (though not in prospect in this case) have been handed out to people who have done society no greater service.

The new alert levels are appropriate settings for our situation, representing progress infused by the right amount of residual caution in the case of Auckland.

The original resurgence cluster appears to have been contained and, all going well, the entire country will be back to level 1 in a couple of weeks.

Without wishing to tempt fate, the prime minister was entitled to her purring observation that officialdom has now successfully managed 50,000 people throughmanaged isolation. ‘‘Without issue,’’ she said. Actually, there were issues with the process, and these lapses in isolation management practices and border protection rightly received public attention and reproach. That said, a milestone such as this deserves acknowledgement.

Ardern’s announcement of a supply agreement giving the Government options to buy approved vaccines (come the day that such a thing exists) for up to half the population is reassuring as far as it goes.

There will still be a potentially difficult supply situation to cover the rest of the country given that the rest of the world, generally, is in a significantly worse and worsening situation, and not all countries will be willing to take their place in a cooperative approach based on legitimate assessment of where the global needs are greatest.

The United States, under the morally unsteady helm of Donald Trump, has already shown its hand in that respect.

The upshot of this dutiful but diligent behaviour from one person ... was an upside for the nation.