PRIME Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand has gained world attention for her outstanding work in the fight against Covid-19 and rightly so.
Prior to declaring total lockdown in the nation of five million, she announced the adoption of alert levels that would serve notice to the public on the conduct of institutions and people in the level declared.
A few days later, she announced that effective March 25, 2020, New Zealand was on Alert Level 4 and that the nation was on a State of Emergency. Businesses closed and majority of New Zealanders stayed at home with exception of workers in essential services, enumerated in the guidelines. The government also put a package of assistance to businesses and individuals affected by the lockdown.
The opposition leader, Simon Bridges, was designated as chair of the Epidemic Response Committee, a special select committee created to consider the Government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Ardern together with Ashley Bloomfield, the chief executive of the Ministry of Health and the country’s director-general of health, have a daily media conference to update on developments against the pandemic, as well as reminding the public to conduct themselves in accordance with rules issued.
With nine deaths reported and 1,084 confirmed cases (as of April 16), there is a chance that the alert level will be lowered to 3, but this will not be known until April 20.
The government has identified 16 existing clusters, continues to conduct contact tracing, requires compulsory quarantine for Kiwis returning from overseas and regularly makes tests (60,160 as of this writing).
On a personal level, I have not gone out of my residence since March 23, when my wife arrived from the Philippines and went on self-isolation in one of the bedrooms in our house. All my children are in essential services and have been kind enough to buy groceries in our behalf. Generally, Kiwis have heeded the call of government to stay at home, while the police have been stopping vehicles to check if they are doing necessary travel.
The Minister of Health, Dr. David Clark, was demoted by Ardern for driving his family to the beach (to exercise on bike) on the first weekend of the national stay-at-home measures. Clark called himself an “idiot” and apologized. It, therefore, horrifies me to learn about the conduct of a number of Filipinos who continue to defy the quarantine directive of government.
Two photo feeds, the one at the Carbon Public Market on Holy Thursday and the horrendous traffic jam on Gov. M. Cuenco Ave. on April 15, send shivers to my bones; as the sacrifices of the majority will have been in vain.
Let us take notice on one of the most advanced urban centers of the world, New York: 222,284 confirmed cases with 14,636 deaths (the latest tally). Covid-19 is deadly, and people really have to take this seriously. Very seriously.