Coronavirus documents unveiled
A tranche of documents released by the Government yesterday has revealed that Dr Ashley Bloomfield wanted the country to spend longer in alert level 2, among other revelations.
The released documents cover Covid-19 decisions made by the Government between April 17 and May 29, including key decisions around the $50 billion Covid-19 fund announced in the Budget.
Stuff has summed up the key findings below.
Managed isolation for all cases considered
A report from May showed Bloomfield intended to require all Covid-19 cases to enter managed isolation until those patients had recovered.
‘‘In the event of a case being confirmed, I intend to require that person to enter managed isolation until such time as they have recovered (shown no symptoms for 48 hours at least 10 days after onset),’’ the document said.
‘‘Similarly, their contacts will be required to enter self-isolation and will be actively monitored, including up to twicedaily visits to monitor their location and any symptoms.’’
Yesterday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was still not ruling this out. She and Bloomfield had made that decision together, she said. ‘‘It still remains very much an option that if we have Covid cases, we could use those facilities.’’
There was limited information on whether businesses were complying with social distancing restrictions.
Returning Kiwis should pay
The documents showed that on April 9, the Government was already considering cost recovery and cost-sharing, as well as approaches for the country’s rules for quarantine and self-isolation in managed facilities – including any law changes required.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was advised that returning Kiwis, who had been away from New Zealand for an extended period, should bear the brunt of quarantine costs.
She was told that residents were making sacrifices under lockdown in level 4 and restrictions on those returning were unlikely to be perceived as overly onerous and could be justified as a fair price of doing so.
A paper showed that advice for a longer-term border strategy was to charge people who were seeking to repatriate after an extended absence from New Zealand.
Costs were based on a projected volume of arrivals of about 190 people per day. However, there are now 200 to 500 returnees daily.
Costing figures have been redacted from the paper.
Bloomfield wanted longer at level 2
A late-May paper shows that the directorgeneral of health wanted the country to spend quite a lot longer at alert level 2.
Bloomfield was keen to spend 28 days at ‘‘the full version’’ of level 2, with gatherings restricted to 100 people.
This only began on May 29 – meaning he wanted most of June to be a level 2.
But amid many days with no new cases and a big push from business, the National Party and NZ First, New Zealand ended up moving to alert level 1 much sooner, on June 8.
‘‘The director-general’s recommendation is that we spend at least 28 days, ie two transmission cycles for the virus, at the full version of level 2 with a cap of 100 on gatherings before we consider a move to level 1,’’ the paper read.
Grim global outlook
A paper prepared in early May for the Cabinet subcommittee that handles foreign affairs was particularly pessimistic about the global pandemic. It predicted a proliferation of failed states, violent extremism and an increase in refugee flows.
This would be particularly bad as global institutions were already under pressure and ‘‘global leadership is absent’’ – a statement likely to refer to the United States.
Government urges ‘pay restraint’ in public sector
Cabinet asked the public service to show visible restraint when it came to pay rises, so as not to anger private sector employees who were experiencing job losses and pay cuts as a result of Covid-19.
Bailout of NZ Post
The Government rejected a Treasury recommendation to provide NZ Post with a loan to carry it through the pandemic. Instead, it opted to make a $150 million cash injection to the company.
Phone app delayed a month
A report into the contact tracing system, dated April 20, appears to show that the release of the Government’s Covid-19 contact phone app was delayed by a month.
Energy sector exemptions for workers
Requests from the energy sector were made to allow foreign workers to enter New Zealand to perform the following essential tasks: Support the provision of a range of digital services for a lifeline utility; support the operation of supply chains at Port Taranaki; and enable timely delivery wind turbines for the Waipipi Wind Farm.
Government concerned about 5g conspiracy theories
The Government was worried that emergency changes it was making to the allocation of the 5G mobile spectrum could be picked up by conspiracy theorists.
Situation updates show confidence
Four days after lockdown began, as New Zealand recorded 514 cases and its first death due to Covid-19 (a West Coast woman in her 70s), Cabinet was told that unmitigated spread of the virus would peak in five or six months.
Regular ‘‘situation updates’’ show the Government was confident in its response to Covid-19 pandemic throughout the lockdown, rarely concerned about testing, tracing, or stocks of personal protective equipment (PPE) failing in the face of potential community transmission.
The Government’s social media analysis
A May 12 report to Cabinet noted the Covid-19 response was damaging material well-being, and gave a ‘‘social media sentiment analysis’’ of how New Zealand felt after two weeks of alert level 3.
‘‘Some are frustrated by the limitations on their freedom and inability to see their loved ones. Media stories published about people unable to visit loved ones as they are dying are driving negative sentiment.’’
Treasury feared a ‘fire sale’ of companies
Treasury officials sounded alarm over sales of important New Zealand companies to foreigners because of the pandemic. Rapid deterioration of the economic picture meant the value of businesses and other strategic assets could drop below the threshold of screening by the Overseas Investment Office, they said.