The good news is that Auckland has moved to Alert Level 1 at midday. It was to be expected, as there had not been any new cases detected in the community for a week [Correction: it has been 14 days since the last community case]. The weather is great and people will want to make the most of it.
The not so good news is that Cabinet had made the decision last night. However, they wanted to wait for the overnight test results to come in before they announced the decision. Now, as far as I know, these overnight results are in by 9.00 AM. Thus, they could have and should have announced the decision then or shortly after and not waited until the PM’s scheduled press conference at 11.30 AM.
Businesses now had and have an extremely short notice to prepare for the lunch crowds and to prepare for the Friday after-work siege let alone prepare for the dinner crowd tonight. Maybe they can quickly rock up to Pak’nSave and buy some fresh fruit and vegetables to quickly whip up a salad or so; tomatoes are dirt-cheap. We know from previous short notices that people can adapt quickly and load up the car to drive off to the bach or holiday home within an hour late at night or very early in the morning, if must be, to avoid the road blocks. For businesses, schools, and universities, for example, these things are not so simple. And the Government knows that!
I don’t think it was fair or realistic to give only 30 min warning.
I reckon there will be a lot of traffic in and out of Auckland tonight and this weekend. But I cannot shake the feeling that they have let down the Team of 1.5 Million. If they want people to take the Alert Levels seriously and stick to the rules, you do not create a situation in which people are more likely to relax or break the rules, next time.
This was poorly handled, in my opinion. Must do better next time.
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