Let rules ignorers face fallout as we lump lockdown

The buzz of the Blues opening their Super Rugby Aotearoa season with a win over the Hurricanes had barely eased before another buzz brought bad news.

First the PM told us, then the Covid-19 alert appeared and sounded on phones at 9.53pm to say Auckland would be at level 3 for seven days from yesterday morning. The rest of New Zealand may be in level 2 for the period.

This time it is not a hopeful three-day lockdown but a full week, which transmits an expectation this cluster could be hard to pin down.

After several lockdowns now, people in Auckland are aware of what’s required. We have to lump the inconvenience.

The restrictions have been introduced after a new community case of Covid-19 was detected. The person had visited a GP for a Covid test, but then went to the gym. The second instance in a week of bad judgment from someone infected.

Another person who had been told to stay home and isolate, instead worked a KFC shift last Monday.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expressed frustration: “People who should have been in isolation, weren’t . . . Please follow the rules, on behalf of everyone.”

She also urged understanding, saying people made mistakes and the country wouldn’t succeed if “we turn on one another”. That said, surely it’s time to consider consequences for such behaviour.

A key concern about the new case was the person had been infectious for a week and was not in isolation, working part-time at the airport.

This week public venues in Auckland will be closed and gatherings outside bubbles prohibited. Supermarkets will stay open. Aucklanders will work from home and children stay home from school.

All sports games were cancelled. The border around the city was reestablished.

At least Kiwis know there is light at the end of the tunnel now some vaccine doses are here and being given to frontline workers. On Saturday, one vaccine set to arrive here this year, gained approval from health advisers for use in the US.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a single shot and easy to handle. It protects against the worst effects of Covid, and can be stored for three months in normal fridges.

Help is on its way.