More than a dozen Aucklanders were waiting patiently in line on the North Shore's Birkenhead Avenue to get a fresh haircut early today. Video / Brett Phibbs
European countries should brace themselves for a deadly second wave of coronavirus infections because the pandemic is not over, says the World Health Organisation's top official in Europe.
The warning follows calls from our own health officials who say Covid is a stubborn virus and Kiwis can't be complacent, despite the shift to level 2 and three straight days of zero cases.
And police boss Andrew Coster says the majority of Kiwis are continuing to follow the rules under level 2 - but if officers have to go into homes to break up big private parties, they will.
New Zealand now has just 65 active cases, although the global death toll from Covid-19 passed 300,000 early on Friday (NZT). Globally, there are 4.4 million cases.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Telegraph UK, Dr Hans Kluge, director for the WHO European region, delivered a stark warning to countries beginning to ease their lockdown restrictions, saying that now is the "time for preparation, not celebration".
Kluge stressed that, as the number of cases of Covid-19 in countries such as the UK, France and Italy was beginning to fall, it did not mean the pandemic was coming to an end. The epicentre of the European outbreak is now in the east, with the number of cases rising in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, he warned.
Countries should use this time wisely and start to strengthen public health systems as well as building capacity in hospitals, primary care and intensive care units, he said.
"Singapore and Japan understood early on that this is not a time for celebration, it's a time for preparation. That's what Scandinavian countries are doing – they don't exclude a second wave, but they hope it will be localised and they can jump on it quickly."
Kluge also warned that a second wave could coincide with an outbreak of other infectious diseases.
"I'm very concerned about a double wave – in autumn, we could have a second wave of Covid and another one of seasonal flu or measles. Two years ago we had 500,000 children who didn't have their first shot of the measles vaccine."
Many experts, including England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, have warned that a second wave of the pandemic could be even deadlier than the first, pointing to the 1918-20 Spanish flu pandemic as evidence.
When the Spanish flu first emerged in March 1918, it had the hallmarks of the typical seasonal illness – but it then came back in an even more virulent and deadly form in the autumn, eventually killing an estimated 50 million people.
Health services staff members stand outside at Navarra Hospital on May 14 in a two minute silence in tribute for members of staff who died of coronovirus, in Pamplona, northern Spain. Photo / AP
Troop movements at the end of World War I are thought to have accelerated the spread of the disease, which also had a third and fourth wave although these were not as devastating.
"We know from history that in pandemics the countries that have not been hit early on can be hit in a second wave," said Kluge. "What are we going to see in Africa and Eastern Europe? They're behind the curve – some countries are saying: 'We're not like Italy' and then, two weeks later, boom! They can unfortunately get hit by a second wave, so we have to be very, very careful."
Kiwis cautiously crept out of their bubbles for the first day of level 2 yesterday. Many cafe and store owners reported a slightly slower start than expected.
The slow start to brunch was in contrast to the busy beauty sector where nail salons were full and busy hairdressers were flat out chopping unruly mops.
Today, gyms like Les Mills hope it's their turn to draw the customers as they too reopen for business.
Most stores, malls, cafes and restaurants were able to reopen yesterday as long as they followed physical distancing and hygiene rules. And for some of them that started the minute lockdown ended at 12.01am.
Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said New Zealanders were on track for elimination but, with an ongoing risk of a second wave, he urged people to remain vigilant on physical distancing, hand hygiene and staying home if sick.
"This is a stubborn virus and we don't want to be going down the path where we see spikes again."
Police Commissioner Coster told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking today that new police powers under alert level 2 were clearer.
Police had no interest or capacity in doing "anything but policing outliers".
"If there's a party at a private house and people are flouting rules, we can go in and sort it out," he said.
But the vast majority of people and businesses were doing the right thing - and that was also already noticeable since the move to level 2 yesterday.
In the past couple of weeks, many European countries have also started unlocking their shuttered economies and allowing some resumption of normal life.
Cyclists take photos in an empty St. Peter's Square, due to coronavirus lockdown measures, at the Vatican on May 10. Photo / AP
Earlier this month, the Spanish population was allowed to exercise outside for the first time in seven weeks, and restaurants in some areas of Germany have reopened. In France, people will no longer need travel permits to explain why they have left home.
But in the absence of an effective treatment for the virus, or a vaccine, Kluge said any lockdown had to be accompanied by rigorous public health measures including comprehensive contact tracing and testing.
A pilot NHS contact tracing app was launched on the Isle of Wight last week, with the UK Government saying it would be rolled out to the rest of the country by the end of the month if it proves successful.
A woman wearing a mask rides past a job centre in Shepherd's Bush, London during the lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus on April 30. Photo / AP
Kluge said the lack of a treatment or vaccine meant any easing of lockdown restrictions had to be done "gradually and carefully", adding: "People think lockdown is finished. Nothing has changed. The full disease control package has to be in place. That's the key message."
He said that he hoped the pandemic had shown that health should now be at the top of the political agenda.
"We always thought that health was the driver of economic prosperity, but it's worse – where there's no health, there's no economy," he added. "This is a lesson that cannot be forgotten.
"Public health deserves its place at the top of the agenda. And sometimes when a leader has suffered personally, it helps."
