Freedom to hug, dance, do as we please (almost)

Prime Minister admits to ‘doing a little dance’ on learning country is Covid-free

We don’t just want to move to level 1. We want to stay there.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

New Zealanders wake this morning to a country with no active Covid-19 cases, no virus transmission, and the freedom to hug, dance and do as they please for the first time in 75 days.

Alert level 1 — essentially normal life with no distancing requirements or limits on gatherings — officially began at midnight, following the 17th straight day of no new Covid-19 cases and the recovery of the country’s final active case.

But strict border measures remain as the Government considers letting in more overseas arrivals including Australians, international students, and foreign essential workers.

The ongoing global pandemic meant more cases would inevitably arise, but being Covid-free was an achievement that should be celebrated, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

“I did a little dance,” she said yesterday when asked how she reacted to the news of no active cases.

“I showed Neve. She was caught a little by surprise but she joined in having absolutely no idea why I was dancing around the lounge, but enjoying it nonetheless.”

Health chief Ashley Bloomfield played down his dancing abilities: “I did allow myself a broad smile.”

It has been 102 days since the first Covid-19 case was reported in New Zealand, which is now part of an elite list of nine countries — including Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Eritrea and the Holy See — with no active cases.

But their Covid experiences have been far less intense, with total cases in those countries ranging from eight to 324; New Zealand has had 1504 confirmed or probable cases and 22 deaths.

It comes as cases worldwide exceed seven million, while the global death toll tops 400,000.

National Party leader Todd Muller said the move to level 1 will be met with a “huge amount of collective satisfaction of a job well done” — though it should have been last week.

He said he will now be more comfortable shaking people’s hands.

“I’ve constantly had to stop and do the elbow-bump — somewhat unnatural. To be able to get closer and connect with people, I think that will be awesome.”

University of Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker said moving to level 1 was a “real achievement”, and a statement that Covid-19 had been eliminated.

But it was only the first battle in a long-term war against the virus, he added.

“This risk will rise again in New Zealand as we gradually increase the numbers of incoming travellers. It will also rise during the coming winter when coronaviruses are more transmissible.”

About 10,000 people have come to New Zealand since a blanket quarantine was imposed from April 10, and not a single worker involved with managing them has tested positive.

From the end of the week, everyone arriving at the border will be tested twice for Covid-19 within 14 days of arriving.

Surveillance testing at the border — which has found one positive test in an asymptomatic worker — will continue.

Bloomfield also wants to test and isolate all air crew flying in from Los Angeles, because their movements are not as restricted as air crew flying in from Asia.

These measures will be constantly monitored as the Government looks at bringing back international students, opening borders with Australia, and welcoming essential workers from overseas.

There is no timeline yet for foreign students or Australians, but hundreds of essential workers and those who meet special requirements — including Avatar film workers — have already been allowed entry.

Bloomfield said there was no sign that anyone was at risk at the QT Hotel in Wellington, where Avatar workers are self-isolating.

They had paid for their stay and the Health Ministry was looking at strengthening such private arrangements, he added.

Ardern didn’t rule out the possibility of moving back up alert levels, but added that the lockdown had remained as long as it did to prevent future yoyo-ing between levels.

“We don’t just want to move to level 1. We want to stay there.”

Contact-tracing will remain important, and Ardern asked businesses to use QR codes so people could keep a digital diary of their movements in the Covid Tracer app.

She urged Kiwis to “buy, play and experience New Zealand-made”, adding that public servants should return to their workplaces to stimulate activity in the country’s CBDs.

A Reserve Bank analysis shows the economy under level 1 is expected to operate at 3.8 per cent below normal levels. Under level 2, it was 8.8 per cent below normal, 19 per cent under level 3 and 37 per cent in level 4.

The wage subsidy is set to be extended from tomorrow but with tighter criteria.

It has so far paid out $11 billion to 1.66 million workers — almost twothirds of the country’s workers.

Level 1 should see a return to work, but 910,000 workers are still estimated to qualify for the wage subsidy extension — which will cost $3.9b.