Coronavirus Update #21

September 4 - Today is a mixed day. On the one hand, there are five new cases, three in the community and all of those were already self isolating. On the other hand, there is another “mystery” case in Botany that presented on Tuesday. And New Zealand had its first covid death related to the new outbreak. This death is tragic and a good reminder as to why we’re all taking precautions and doing all of the things we need to do to stay safe.

Today is also the first day I’ve seen a public list that clearly stated that “There are two cases in the outbreak outside the cluster and three other groups within the cluster with missing links in their transmission chains.” This is the type of data I want to know. How many of these cases are still unknown? Because if they got it from somewhere that hasn’t been traced yet, then we’re not in the clear. Fortunately, the government is extending Level 2.5 until September 16 so we’ll have a long enough span of time to know if the precautions that have been put in place are enough to squash this second outbreak.

September 5 - There is another death from covid - two in just a few hours after none in over three months. This makes 24 Kiwi covid deaths overall. There are also three more cases today, two of which are in the community. Fortunately, they are both connected to the Auckland cluster, though I’m beginning to wonder about this Mt. Roskill sub-cluster (as its now called). It isn’t so mini anymore.

When I was out taking more morning walk I saw fewer and fewer masks. There was a real bump up at the beginning of the week, but now the enthusiasm is gone and people seem to be back to being mask-free. There are hints that the government’s ability to keep everyone on the “Team of 5 Million” is starting to wane. There was even an anti-lockdown protest in downtown Auckland this afternoon, though I can’t imagine how anyone could a) call this a lockdown or b) be all that mad about it. Everything (except wearing masks on public transport) is voluntary at this point. I really hope the “I have the right to get sick” rhetoric doesn’t make headway here in New Zealand.

September 6 - There are five new cases today, four of which are in the community and connected to Mt. Roskill. The number of cases connected to this church is frightening - especially as it keeps growing despite the restrictions in Level 3.

There are also new rules and regulations surrounding testing people who interact with international travellers and the border. People will be tested either weekly or fortnightly depending on their jobs, and people who refuse could be fined $1000. I think it is fantastic that they’ve outlined who will be tested and with what frequency, but it is mind boggling that these precautions haven’t been in place until now. Why on earth haven’t border workers been tested regularly since this all began? That seems like a very obvious thing to do. I guess better late than never?

September 7 - It is a relatively quiet day in the world of New Zealand coronavirus cases. There are four new cases, two of which are imported and two of which are community cases clearly linked to the existing Auckland outbreak. It has now been one week since we moved into Level 2.5, and I’m cautiously optimistic that this might work as the community numbers remain low. I know we need to give it at least two weeks to know for sure, but the fact that after five days of more social activity the numbers are still going down seems to be a positive indication.

I’m still wearing masks everywhere though.

September 8 - There are six new cases, four of which are community spread and related to the Mt. Roskill cluster. By the evening, it is revealed that one of the cases is a high school kid who was at school last Friday and left when she started to feel ill - meaning this kid was contagious. At school. The school has been shut down for cleaning and close contacts tracing. The scary part? Apparently this kid was a close contact to the Mt. Roskill cluster, but was previously undisclosed. The government is trying to figure out if that was deliberate or not, and the government is now saying that this group is very difficult to work and not always cooperating. That is not confidence inspiring.

Another case is a healthcare worker at a Maori public heath center. This is particularly concerning because an infected doctor (who was death number 24 for New Zealand) is thought to have spread the virus to many people in the Pacifica community. Could we be looking at a repeat? I hope not. The information on the high school student and the health center worker are making me take pause and take inventory of what I have on hand in case there is another lockdown soon. Do I have enough printer paper, craft supplies, and surprise activities for the kids if we wake up one morning to find ourselves back in Level 3 or 4?

September 9 - There are six new cases all linked to Mt. Roskill, four of which are kids. There are 43 cases as part of this mini-cluster and it doesn’t appear to be completely “ringed in.” The Health Minister said that they had even gone as far as bringing in the police to ensure they were getting the cooperation they need which is on the one hand comforting and on the other hand scary. Scary that such heavy-handed tactics are needed, but even scarier that there are people who don’t understand that getting a test is an important thing to do if you’ve possibly been exposed to coronavirus.

September 10 - There are four new cases, two in MIQ and two are part of the Mt. Roskill cluster. That brings us to 1,441 total cases overall with 120 active within the country. There are three people in the hospital. Overall, things seem to be about the same with a few cases popping up every day and tracers working frantically to stay ahead of the spread. I’m cautiously optimistic that with time, the virus will die out again.

However, there is a new threat from social media spread pseudo-science and conspiracy theories. There is a new push to counter misinformation about the virus. Apparently a fair number of people from the Mt. Roskill cluster - especially those with ties to US conservative evangelical or pentecostal churches - are being duped by online disinformation. I am very curious to see how the New Zealand government counters misinformation spread online. I know the US government won’t do anything about it, but here, in New Zealand where there is a public health system, will the government be more proactive because of the public health costs of people thinking coronavirus isn’t anything more than the flu and/or a future vaccine isn’t safe/is a Bill Gates ploy to take over the world? I can only hope.