New COVID-19 cases in NZ community - Expert Reaction

"Four new cases of COVID-19 have been detected in one family in South Auckland. There are no known links to travel or to managed isolation and quarantine facilities. This means there are almost certainly other active cases of COVID-19 present in Auckland at the moment, so it is important that we behave accordingly. Auckland will move to Level 3 on midday Wednesday, which will immediately reduce transmission if we follow the rules and stick to our bubbles.

"Moving to Level 3 also reduces the number of contacts most of us have, which will give our contact tracers a much easier job over the coming days. It would also be worth Aucklanders checking their apps, diaries, and bank accounts to make a list of places they have visited or people they have had contact with over the last fourteen days. If you can, you should also wear a mask when going to the supermarket. Remember that not everyone can wear a mask, so wear yours if you can to protect them.

"However, there is also a chance the disease will have spread to other parts of the country. Because of this everyone in New Zealand should take the necessary precautions, including wearing masks if you can, especially in close indoor settings, hand-washing, and getting tested if you have any of the symptoms.

"Stay safe, and be kind."

"Tonight’s announcement of community transmission without a located source is likely to raise a number of emotions, especially for those in Auckland. Anxiety, fear, anger and disappointment are likely.

"It is important to remember that emotions evolved to provide us with information that could help us make sense of our experiences and guide our behaviour. For example, anxiety alerts us that we are facing a threat and need to act in a way that ensures survival. What does this mean right now - wash your hands, cough into your elbow and if you are in Auckland stick to your bubble. Disappointment signals we have lost something meaningful to us - in this instance our liberty. Take that disappointment and use it as motivation to stick to the rules. Turning away from or suppressing your emotional reactions will only intensify them.

"New Zealand will need time to emotionally and cognitively adjust to this announcement. Hold compassion and kindness for yourself and others as you adjust, reach out and offer support to those around you. Take one day at a time, practice your wellbeing strategies and hold the hope that we will get through this together."

"The fact that these new cases have no known link to international travel or people working at the border makes the situation more serious. This means there could be several links in the chain and a larger number of cases that we don’t yet know about. That’s why it’s important to take swift, decisive action and move the whole of Auckland to Alert Level 3 as soon as possible. As the Prime Minister also said, the fact that the four cases have several different workplaces in different suburbs means this needs to apply to the whole super city. Melbourne initially attempted to lockdown specific suburbs and it didn’t work.

"The rest of the country in Alert Level 2 should also be very cautious. It’s quite possible a case we don’t yet know about has travelled outside of Auckland and it would be easy for the virus to spread. So everyone needs to get back to social distancing, work from home if you can, wear a mask if you need to go out, and get tested if you feel sick.

"If we do the right things now, there’s a good chance we will be able to contain this outbreak before it spreads too much further."

"Many New Zealanders will be responding to the announcement of returning to Lockdown Levels 2 or 3 with fear, anxiety, or even anger. This is normal. We experience these emotions when we are under threat. And we are under threat again.

"Left unchecked fear and anxiety will drive our behaviour. We may act without thinking clearly and panic or lash out. But we don’t have to be ruled by our fear.

"The first thing people should do is stop and take a deep breath. Pause and notice how we’re feeling. Once we’re calm, remember that we’ve done this before. We can remind ourselves of what Levels 2 and 3 were like and what we did to get through them. Then make some plans. Planning gives us back a sense of control. Cancel those non-urgent appointments and buy yourself some time.

"Get into the habit of regularly checking in on yourself. How are your anxiety or anger levels now? Do I need to do something to help soothe myself again?

"We’ve done it before and we can do it again - even though it’s really really annoying to have to do it again!"

"It is vital that people review their own non-pharmaceutical intervention strategies (hand hygiene, physical distancing, contact tracing methods and now, please add in a cloth/fabric mask to your strategies – if in Auckland please wear a mask if you need to access essential services during this time. This is a strategy to minimise possible aerosol spread. The COVID-19 virus is tiny, but it is carried on saliva and it is the saliva that is trapped in layers of fabric, thus reducing the aerosol droplet spread.

"If people believe these strategies can be effective they are more likely to use them. In lockdown level 4, there was a high belief in the effectiveness of masks (which is great). For contact tracing apps in level 3 there was low indication of uptake and this is borne out by the figures released by Government earlier this week. If less than 700,000 have installed the app – how many of those have never used it, if the app has only been activated some 2 million times in total?"