Editorial: Sting in the tail of the Auckland August cluster

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned of a long tail soon after the potential of the Auckland August cluster was understood. Photo / Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images

Editorial

EDITORIAL

On August 25, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Cabinet's decision to extend level 3 in Auckland had followed the advice of director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield.

If Auckland had not gone into level 3 on August 12, the South Auckland cluster would have grown exponentially, she said. Ardern then warned there would still be more cases, given its "long tail".

This was prescient, but not remarkably so, given what officials knew about the people who had already been infected in what has become known as the Auckland August cluster. Notably, the contagion was loose among vulnerable Māori and Pasific people.

Experts had warned this would be a more difficult prospect to tackle. The very strengths that bind these communities are behaviours the virus will exploit: close and frequent contact with wider family and friends as well as physical displays of affection when they encounter each other.

Now we also sadly know that adding a fundamental Christian ethos to place trust in scriptural guidance offers the Covid-19 coronavirus further opporunity to thrive.

This is not to opportion blame on anyone unwittingly carrying the virus. Few, if we're honest with ourselves, have completely complied with every official advisory throughout this pandemic.

Those who have been following the updates will know this cluster will be a tricky one to close down, and we appear unlikely to lift the restrictions on Auckland this Monday.

And there may yet be more stings in this "long tail".