Covid Watch

Some South Island businesses have been left frustrated.
Auckland will stay in Alert Level Four until at least next Tuesday while the rest of the country will stay in lockdown until at least this Friday.
That's despite no community cases being detected in any South Island towns or cities.
Business South Chief Executive Mike Collins Kate Hawkesby says there are businesses still feeling the pinch from previous Alert Level changes.
"I was just talking to the teams over in Queenstown the other day and they're really, really struggling. The wage subsidy is a great addition, but at the same time, it's not sustainable for the future, it doesn't cover all of the costs."
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New Zealand has had more community cases of Covid-19 overnight -- but the Government won't say how many.
The whole country remains in a Level Four lockdown until at least Friday -- and Auckland will remain at Level Four until at least next Tuesday.
There are now more than 107 cases and more than 400 visits to locations of interest -- with a number of supermarkets, two schools and a few Auckland bus routes added to the list overnight.
But Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told Mike Hosking there's no sign of community spread on the Coromandel Peninsula, so far.
"There will be more cases today, so unless there's something in the cases today, but as of last night it was looking reasonably encouraging."
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More support for Parliament to get back up and running as soon as possible. 
The sitting of Parliament has been suspended for a week amid Covid-19 restrictions, however select committees will be attended online.  
Both National and Act have both raised concerns as most committees are chaired by Labour MPs. 
But Constitutional lawyer and former Attorney General Chris Finlayson says parliament should be moved completely online rather than being suspended. 
"It is possible to have a virtual Parliament, as I say, with the MP for Northland beaming in and asking the Prime Minister questions. I think that's a very healthy approach." 
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There's been some strong opposition in response to Parliament being suspended for a week due to Covid-19 restrictions. 
Select committees will still go ahead online, but that’s drawing criticism from the opposite side the House, as most committees are led by Labour MPs. 
There have also been calls for the Epidemic Response Committee to be reinstated in order to ensure the Government is being held to account. 
National Party Leader Judith Collins joined Kerre McIvor.
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There's no sign of community spread on the Coromandel Peninsula, so far, nor has there been any trace of Covid-19 in the wastewater. 
Yet again, people are scratching their heads as to why, if this virus is so incredibly transmissible, someone with the Delta variant can drink at the local pub which was absolutely packed, go into cafes, spend time with other people - and people don't catch it. 
Otago University Epidemiologist, Professor Michael Baker joined Kerre McIvor.
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You can see the picture developing here, surely.
The level four lockdown for the whole country, bar Auckland and Coromandel, for three days was, of course, a joke.  
The extension was also a joke. As far as Auckland goes, the idea that it would be in level four for a single week, given the length of the list of places of interest alone, was equally farcical. 
So, the damage so far, if you base it on ASB figures at $290 million a day is over four billion dollars. Even if it all goes to plan, such as there is a plan, some of us will head to level three.  
We will be there at least two weeks and that is more billions in damage, given level three isn't all that much different to four. 
Level two is where you need to be, at the very least, and two is a world away right now. 
This brings up a couple of important questions.  
Will we ever be in level one again? One is large crowds, it's sports, it's bars and it's events. 
Second question; is elimination real? And how long before they put the white flag up on that? 
A supplementary question; if perchance they eliminate this outbreak and we do get back to level one, what chance we get second outbreak and its level four repeated? 
It's not beyond the realms of possibility that this will take a couple of months. That’s mid-October. The damage economically at that point will be many billions. It's money the Government doesn't have. They have about $10-ish billion left from the original $50 billion they printed. 
They spent about $45 billion and got back a bit more than they thought through tax.  The irony of that is it's simply money going round and round and losing an element of efficiency each time it's spent. 
If the timeline is right, we will be into a debate about elimination. Targets for vaccines will have been introduced because the pressure will have got too great, and the race will be on to finish the vaccine programme ahead of schedule. 
The thing holding that back will be supply. The reason supply is an issue is because we got so smug late last year, we didn't order what we should have and have been at the bottom of the OECD ever since. 
The politics of this is dangerous for the Government; this isn't like last time. The anger is already palpable. Their polling has already dropped 10 points and that was before this outbreak. 
There isn't the same pot of money, and there isn't the same forgiving teddy bear in the window delusion. They are in trouble. 
They deserve to be, and they know it.

A steady hand is calling for calm amid Parliament being suspended for a week due to Covid-19 restrictions. 
Select committees will still go ahead online. 
However, there have been calls for the Epidemic Response Committee to be reinstated in order to ensure the Government is being held to account. 
But Wellington Barrister Graeme Edgeler told Kate Hawkesby it’s not the end of the world. 
"They can wait a week; Parliament didn't sit last week. Parliament didn't sit for three weeks in July, it's a week's delay.' 
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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced an extension on the level 4 lockdown today, with all of New Zealand staying in level 4 until 11.59 Friday; and Auckland until the following Tuesday. 
Grant Robertson told Heather du Plessis-Allan that Delta completely changes the game in how outbreaks are managed. 
He also said the Covid Response Fund has “significant fiscal headroom” if lockdown does continue to be extended. 
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Lisa Carrington may be finding life a little quiet after Tokyo. The Olympian is on her last day in MIQ, only to be coming out into a lockdown. 
She chatted with Heather du Plessis-Allan about her plans to travel the country being put on hold and what her plans are once she gets out of MIQ. 
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Jacinda Ardern has announced that all of New Zealand will remain at level 4 until at least Friday night, extending the lockdown out 4 more days. Auckland however will remain in level 4 until at least Tuesday, August 31st.  
The country has recorded 35 new cases today, 33 in Auckland and the other 2 in Wellington. Of the 107 cases, 7 people are in hospital.  
The Government's top Covid-19 modeller warns Delta is a different enemy to what New Zealand faced last year.  
Rodney Jones says the public should mentally prepare ... in case we need a longer lockdown. 
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