Cabinet in New Zealand to overhaul Covid settings next week – as it happened | World news

This blog is now closed. You can read more about Jacinda Ardern’s decision to exclude the coronavirus here and here the report on today’s earthquakes and tsunami. Thank you for reading

America’s Cup sailing will resume Wednesday, while cricket, netball and rugby can finally put tickets on sale for their major events on Sunday, Stuff reports.

Ardern says she “definitely” felt the first earthquake. Her first thought was “Bugger it,” she says.

Left Allan chips in: “She texted me to make sure I was doing my job. 2.29 am! “

Minister of Emergency Management Left Allan is back to talk about the tsunami response. She says the call to cancel the warning was made when it was found that “there was no more risk to life.”

She is faced with questions about the notification system, especially the Civil Defense SMS alerts that are sent to people’s phones. These were received by thousands of people at different times, but Allan says it is not yet known whether this could have been improved.

“Those are rigidly targeted, and are again targeting those most at risk of losing their lives, based on available science. That was not intended to be a carte blanche notice for everyone. “

She says she is generally satisfied that people knew what to do as a result of the overall management strategy, but that the government “would like to stress test the system in the coming days.”

Both she and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern recognize that the first two of the three earthquakes were “disconnected,” one shot off the east coast of the North Island and one near the Kermadec Islands – requiring different responses.

Allan says there have been no reports of any related or substantial damage from the earthquakes. Now that the warning has been canceled, government teams can take a closer look, she says.

Ardern says it was the right decision to lift the three-day lockdown in Auckland earlier in February, before the level 3 restrictions were reintroduced at the end of the month.

Ardern is asked to apologize to Case L, a coronavirus case who says she has not been told to isolate herself by the government and that Ardern’s comments about her case have led to her being bullied on social media.

Ardern now says (as she has before) that she won’t apologize, but that she never meant to create a stack.

Another exception: Sunday services can only continue with fewer than 100 people in attendance.

Ardern interrupts Bloomfield’s questioning about the Health Act’s invocation to say that New Zealanders’ requirements under his coronavirus response are “generally very well understood.”

She says she does not believe anyone who has violated level three restrictions with the intention of doing wrong things, and that she has not seen any benefit in the past week in continuing a “back and forth” over individual cases.

Ardern adds that there have always been breaches of the New Zealand lockdown. “Overall, the country has done exceptionally well, but we’ve never had an experience that was perfect.”

There are some exceptions to the lifting of the restriction levels, says the director general of health Ashley Bloomfield

People who attended the City Fitness gym (the site of the most recent major exposure event, a week ago) and those who have been told by Auckland’s regional public health teams that they are a casual, close, or informal contact of a confirmed case.

These people are required to isolate themselves in their usual homes, report for and undergo medical tests at a time and place specified by a medical officer, and remain isolated until they receive further information.

Bloomfield clarifies that this is a “specific legal requirement” compelling these individuals under section 70 of the Health Act.

Ardern: “We may not be in the devastating position that much of the world is in, but an elimination strategy can still feel like hard work. It is completely natural to feel tired. Covid is hard work for everyone. Thank you for moving on. “

Ardern says the government’s response has been overly cautious given the unpredictable and highly transmissible nature of the UK variant of the coronavirus.

“Level three provided us with an extra layer of security while tackling the unknowns and reducing risk.”

Auckland will move to level two on Sunday at 6am. The rest of the country will go to level one at the same time.

Jacinda Ardern starts by referring to case numbers in France and elsewhere abroad: “I know that here in New Zealand we don’t take any of what we take for granted, not least because so many of us know or have people from whom we keep abroad. “

She says she accepts that New Zealand’s elimination strategy is difficult for people, from job cuts to canceling school camps. “Covid has taken its toll in so many ways, but it will get even better.”

She says she will release a “roadmap” in the coming weeks showing how the rollout of immunization will affect Aotearoa’s response to Covid in the coming year.

Left Allan says the civil defense response to the pre-dawn tsunami threat was underway: “I want to thank everyone who did just the right thing.”

Jacinda Ardern: “It is difficult not to feel that our country is unlucky when you have to endure an earthquake, tsunami and pandemic all in one day …

“We’ve had our share of tough times in this country, but within it we’ve always been blessed with incredible people working in our emergency response system.”

Ardern commends the work of the minister of emergency management Left Allan and hands her over for an update.

Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield will provide an update on Covid-19’s response afterwards.