Sobering slice of perspective

The tragic loss of two New Zealand brothers to Covid-19 has brought a fresh dose of perspective to the country’s contemplation of an imminent move to lower alert levels. The Te Hiko family inWaikato is mourning brothers Nigel and Alan, who died two weeks apart, Nigel at Waikato Hospital on Tuesday, Alan at Middlemore Hospital.

It’s believed Nigel contracted the virus from his brother, who worked at Americold in Auckland. They formed part of the Auckland cluster.

The wha¯nau, from Tokoroa, is well-known in South Waikato but it’s likely even Kiwis who don’t know them will feel grief and loss as stories of the brothers circulate around communities, hui and marae throughout the country.

Nigel TeHiko’s death takes New Zealand’s toll from the virus to 25. That is tiny compared to the US, for example, where there have been almost 200,000 deaths and more than six million cases, according to figures on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.

In contrast to New Zealand, where our losses have been individually acknowledged, casualties are mounting so quickly in the US there’s hardly time for people to stop, grieve and think about the devastating effect in their communities.

India’s coronavirus caseload soared past five million onWednesday, with amillion new cases recorded in just 11 days, according to a report from The Times in London.

Australia has recorded 824 deaths, 737 of them in Victoria, and there was outrage here at a decision by Sanzaar to host the Rugby Championship across the ditch because of more flexible quarantine arrangements there.

New Zealand’s tough alert level restrictions appear to have slowed the spread of the virus again, with no new cases in the community for two days. That’s small consolation to the Te Hiko wha¯nau, who must hold a tangi for a second treasured son shortly after farewelling a first.

The slowing spread means Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, in consultation with DirectorGeneral of Health Ashley Bloomfield, is under pressure from business and the political sphere to lower alert levels. Another review is set for September 21, with Ardern saying onMonday that Cabinet had ‘‘agreed in principle’’ the rest of the country could move to alert level 1 then.

National Party leader Judith Collins and ACT leader David Seymour are pushing hard for lower levels, while NZ First leader Winston Peters invoked the Coalition Agreement’s ‘‘Agree to Disagree’’ provision on the Monday decision to maintain level 2 outside Auckland.

In balancing calls for an easing of restrictions for businesses and maintaining public safety, the deaths of the Te Hiko brothers provide something of a reality check. The conventional wisdom has been that Covid-19 primarily targets the elderly, but the brotherswere both in their 50s.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s June-quarter GDP fell by 12.2 per cent, Stats NZ reported yesterday, putting the country officially in deep recession. Australia and the United States fared better, with declines of 7 per cent and 9.1 per cent, respectively, while the average fall so far in Europe is 12.4 per cent.

Wage subsidies have now finished and there’s likely to be more pain as businesses shut their doors and people lose their jobs. That’s the tough background against which Ardern and her Cabinet will have to make Monday’s crucial decision.

... even Kiwis who don’t know them will feel grief and loss as stories of the brothers circulate ...