A friend in the South Island writes to express admiration for Aucklanders who adhere to the level 3 Covid-19 lockdown. Photo / Pam Carmichael
I would just like to say a heartfelt thank you to Aucklanders (and wider area) for taking this latest virus outbreak seriously and staying at home. We really appreciate it because it is for the good of the whole country.
We feel your frustration and we know that
it is hard. But it's got to be done.
You supported us in our times of need - like the earthquakes and the mosque shootings and, although we can't do much to help you, know that we are with you in mind and we appreciate what you are doing for all of us.
I am proud that New Zealanders support each other in times of need. This virus is something quite different and it will not be solved with 20th-century thinking. The best thing we can do for our future is to grow thinking "we, we, we" instead of "me, me, me".
Thank you Auckland and thank you New Zealand from the bottom of my heart. We can do this.
Jean Cory-Wright, Christchurch.
Many returning Kiwis test Covid positive on their arrival.
They most certainly had it when they boarded their plane and, what's more, knew they had it but travelled anyway. This puts all other passengers, our border protection staff and hotel reception at great risk before returnees enter isolation.
Surely a certified test certificate should be required before they are allowed to board a plane to come here?
The source of this new outbreak will surely be traced back to Auckland airport.
Vince West, Milford.
I'm shocked and angry that the so-called "fortress" we have told had been built to keep the virus away from all us Kiwis was a facade and a lie.
How naive for the Government to think that by not testing all border workers that we could keep the virus at bay.
We have all sacrificed to ensure that Covid won't be spread and this admission of mismanagement is a kick in the guts for all of us Kiwis.
The current border system is not working and we need a more bi-partisan approach to ensuring that we don't let the virus into the community.
Listen to the likes of Sam Morgan, Rob Fyfe, Prof Des Gorman whose apolitical approaches we should be taking on board.
We need decisive leadership, not a wishy-washy, trying-to-please-the-masses approach.
The border is our weak point. We need to have more robust, fail-proof systems that ensure that Covid won't get through.
As most people will tell you, we don't mind the sacrifice, but there's got to be some payback.
Robert Wark, St Mary's Bay.
As we predicted, the Auckland bashing has begun.
What happened to being kind and a team of 5 million? No one wants to get the virus nor be locked down again. A little compassion would go a long way.
It seems our Auckland dollars are welcome everywhere, as long as the Aucklanders stay at home.
L Grant, Greenlane.
The billions of dollars that the Reserve Bank has pushed into the economy by buying government bonds to fund the Covid deficits are different in nature to the debt money that trading banks create. They do not expire unless the government repays them and no government will have the funds to repay them.
The Reserve Bank is wholly owned by the NZ government so the government owes money to itself. The bonds earn interest from the government and return it to the government as profit, so cost little to retain. In time the bonds expire, and no debt exists.
The money the government spent into the economy to cover the covid emergency will continue to permanently circulate in the economy, replacing Covid-era losses and write downs. There is no reason not to spend whatever this emergency requires.
David Guise, Golflands.
As a retired doctor, I commend most of our Government-led collective response to Covid-19. However I, like Professor Gorman (NZ Herald, August 14), was flabbergasted to find out that quarantine and border staff have not been having regular compulsory testing up to the last 24 hours. If we achieved national Covid eradication, those coming through the border or engaging with them are the weak point in our defences, requiring the highest level of surveillance. Testing is our best, if imperfect, defence.
It also beggars belief that any nurses are allowed to complement their primary work at hospitals with isolation/quarantine work. How better could you aid transmission of this deadly virus than getting a nurse infected at quarantine/border work, then asymptomatically and unknowingly sharing it with hospital colleagues and vulnerable patients, and then needing to quarantine a large number of hospital staff who we desperately need to remain working.
Richard Stirling, New Windsor.
Epidemiologist Michael Baker's advice (NZ Herald, August 14) to be cautious about accepting information on social media as truth applies not only to the current Covid-19 situation but all the time.
To accept a statement by anyone "without critically assessing it" is the way in which harmful rumours and misinformation are spread.
In the run-up to an election we should be especially careful to examine any statement and consider who is making it and whether they are likely to have a motive.
Anne Martin, Helensville.
The Government is strongly advising the use of face masks. With so much government money being sprayed around, maybe some of it could be allocated to ordering in bulk a few million masks and handed out free.
And, if serious about the wearing of masks, do some advertising with prominent New Zealanders wearing them, and endorsing their use.
Sports stars in particular have a lot of influence and judging by the number of people in Auckland not wearing masks while out and about a bit of influencing is needed.
James Gregory, Parnell.
Why do Auckland Council's CCOs not communicate with one another?
Watercare has not announced any relaxation in the restrictions on water use yet another arm of the council was giving a Remuera pavement a thorough waterblasting this week. This at a time when I have been instructed not to run the tap when cleaning my teeth.
Peter Clapshaw, Remuera.
What an appalling money-making venture to house a further 3000 milking goats in barns in the Waikato.
Goats are smart, wiley animals and to imprison them away from grass and sunlight is just as horrible as chickens and pigs being enclosed in small, indoor battery spaces.
With wide open spaces for free-range farming available, why is barn farming allowed to exist and expand in New Zealand?
More animals in close proximity, more antibiotics required to keep them healthy then passing down the food chain to those consuming the milk and meat.
Not an investment I consider ethical in this day and age.
Coralie van Camp, Remuera.
There is no doubt of the value of testing for Covid-19. There is, however, serious doubt of the logic or feasibility of "testing everyone" (NZ Herald, August 17).
One of my daughters was tested in June, another daughter was tested last week. Results were both negative. My questions for your correspondent: should the June test be repeated now? Or when? How frequently should our entire team of 5 million have tests, and tests, and tests?
The instruction for only those with symptoms to be tested in recent days was a response to the sudden, very significant increase in testing numbers. No one could have anticipated the timing of the sudden return of level 3.
Asymptomatic testing should be resumed once queues are reduced, for now prioritising those with symptoms is reasonable and responsible. And we should all wear masks, as if we have Covid-19, symptomatic or not.
Judy Lawry, Golflands.
On borders
We have been led to believe that our borders were efficiently controlled when the opposite was the case. The Government and Jacinda Ardern should be held responsible. Bruce Woodley, Birkenhead.
On testing
Am I missing something? The health department has a Covid app, but not any way to let people know when and where they can be tested? Rob Buchanan, Kerikeri.
On lockdown
Surely masks, gloves, improved hygiene and "distancing" is enough, without wrecking the economy and causing social distress? John Clements, Orewa.
On election
The calls by various parties to postpone the General Election was somewhat like an attempt to apply lipstick to the proverbial pig. Graeme Samson, Whangārei.
On anxiety
University of Columbia says some children find it distressing to spend time in nature because of climate change. Hylton Le Grice, Remuera.
On tracing
Whoever the people responsible for contact tracing are, the team of NZ thank you. E. Morrow, Matakana.
On Trump
I see even Marge Simpson has weighed into the US election with an ominous message for the Trump campaign: Beware the Ides of Marge, Mr President! Dean Donoghue, Papamoa Beach.
Toll rises from an apparent mass poisoning in Laos tourist town of Vang Vieng. Video / TVNZ