Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern apologises for a wrong message which urged all 750,000 south and west Aucklanders to get a Covid test. Video / Newstalk ZB
EDITORIAL
Aucklanders are now getting used to the halfway state of what the Prime Minister has dubbed alert level 2.5.
Even that name for the between-floors lift we are in highlights the inevitable messiness of the current stage of dealing with the coronavirus.
We used to have four clear levels,but clarity has eroded. That's because information about Covid-19 has changed over time, some of the advice has been refined, various missteps have been made, and with a testing and tracing programme in place, the risk is focused rather than dispersed.
The blunder over the initial official notice calling for people in West and South Auckland to be tested, which Jacinda Ardern called an over-simplification of the intended message, took the gloss off the drop from level 3.
It showed what a tricky business communication is.
The incorrect message said people needed to get a test even if asymptomatic. It was later fixed to say that only people who had been in contact with a confirmed or probable case needed to get tested, "even if they don't have symptoms".
The link to a case is the difference between a dragnet and a line, but the people who are infected but think they are fine are also a crucial group to hook. They are a group who need to wear masks but most likely don't think they need to.
Now there are new rules of compulsory mask-wearing on public transport. Ardern asked that people mask up for shops and malls but also "when you step out of your home". The Prime Minister is not ruling out mandating masks if people fail to use them.
The Government is not alone in having to react to events and adjust, and to ask us all to do the same.
New virus developments emerge regularly.
Last week it was reported that a few cases of reinfection had occurred in several parts of the world. On Sunday, South Korea had its 17th consecutive day of triple-figure daily case increases. From today, Hungary becomes the first European country to close its borders down again after a spike.
A Western Australia man accused of breaching quarantine will be the first person in the country to be fitted with a tracking ankle bracelet during his stay in isolation. Case numbers are coming down in Victoria but Premier Daniel Andrews says it is still too early to plan a way out of restrictions.
People would prefer certainty and absolute clarity, but the reality is more nuanced and complex.
For instance, the Prime Minister is keeping her messaging on masks straightforward to encourage acceptance. Going into greater detail could cause confusion, and the priority is to get people to put them on.
Upshot: The 6-foot rule comes to us from 1897. The reality is that ideal distance depends on masks, occupancy, indoor vs. outdoor, silence vs. speaking vs. shouting, and ventilation. pic.twitter.com/QdgoLyoewk
Yet there is useful information available on specific issues such as testing, masks and transmission of the virus. Research in the British Medical Journal outlines the relative risks of different activities, indoors and outdoors, masked and maskless, poorly and well ventilated.
Masks vary in effectiveness. Supermarket disposable masks and homemade ones with three layers are good enough.
A US study found bandannas were the least useful. Our Ministry of Health says: "If you do not have access to masks, face coverings such as a bandanna or scarf are a suitable option".
Is it better to be more pointed in official advice or to just hope to get as many people wearing some form of face-covering as possible?
Most Kiwis accept that public safety is the key goal and have handled the restrictions with good grace. And we are getting used to wearing masks and new messages.
The COVID-19 pandemic is showing no sign of slowing down. What do we know now?https://t.co/REtHI43Bka
