At midnight, New Zealand will leave level 4 lockdown and enter level 3. We now have a total of 1,469 cases and 19 deaths (today had 5 new cases and 1 new death). There are now just 270 active cases. So we are on track to eliminating the virus domestically. Jacinda Ardern said "We have done this together," and "There is no widespread community transmission in New Zealand. We have won that battle." With regards to US politics, Director of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield declined to comment on Donald Trump's recommendation of injecting bleach.
On May 11 the government will decide whether to further ease restrictions and enter alert level 2, which will be much closer to normal life for most people. Hopefully people continue to take this situation seriously so we don't have to remain in lockdown for much longer. Level 3 is still pretty restricted, it has been described as 'level 4 but with KFC' and the main difference is an increase in economic activity, we still have to generally stay at home.
New Zealand is on the right track, and it looks like we can end up being a success story through this sad and traumatic time. Of course we have been harmed too, with 19 lives lost so far and what's likely to be a severe economic impact-the best case estimate for unemployment is around 8.5%-up from 4.0% currently-and potentially much worse.
It’s awesome that she managed to get a hold on this so fast considering flu season is right around the corner.
