New outbreak in New Zealand

[CKBJ]

Breaking news outbreak in a retirement village in Auckland. Residents developed respiratory type illness. Auckland have gone into level 3 while the outbreak is assessed. After over 100 days of being virus free and their strict measures, what has broken down to allow this?

@Aridane

If you had the virus and your household didn’t, would you really want to stay at home and infect them?

I would want to stay at home yes.

We already have a plan as to how to manage this within the home.

Well if its adults.

If it's my kids who bring it into the home, then I will look after them the way that I have done with every illness they have had. That will ultimately increase my exposure but frankly I don't care.

I do hope they are not removing children from their families.

@Aridane

If you had the virus and your household didn’t, would you really want to stay at home and infect them?

They are removing close contacts - household members - also.

I would think that staying together in a hotel room also virtually ensures the entire family gets it - whilst some distancing may be possible in a house (especially many NZ style houses)

I would also think this will disincentivise testing - i.e. people will ride any illness out in secrecy in the hope that it's not covid, in order not to be removed to a facility.

Imagine families with newborn babies and small kids, suddenly living in a hotel room without all their things to hand... and whilst unwell. Nightmarish.

I was surprised at them moving people to hotels too. I wonder if it is cos people in Melbourne were not staying home. I read that they went to check on people with Covid who were supposed to be isolating and 1 in 4 of them were out. Some at work. It seems crazy but I wonder of they were so skint they just felt they couldn't take time off.

I doubt they will remove kids from parents. They'd need caregivers to look after them and that would expose way more people.

@SparklingLime

The way Jacinda and team communicate so clearly and frankly is something else. Dan Andrews over in Victoria, Aus also answering every journo’s question until they literally have no more. So different to the UK.

Different to England.

Nicola Sturgeon has done that almost every day for five months. And the Tories are asking the BBC to stop airing it...

Argh, sorry, @AudacityOfHope. That was really ignorant and insular of me 🤦🏻‍♀️ Apologies. Agree, and it must be so hard when she has to somehow cope with Johnson’s idiocy as well.

Haha yep!

I think it's a good thing m

Turangawaewae

I read that they went to check on people with Covid who were supposed to be isolating and 1 in 4 of them were out. Some at work. It seems crazy but I wonder of they were so skint they just felt they couldn't take time off.

I agree.
There are so many payday to payday workers and they simply cannot buy food on pay day without the pay day. They also don't have the bulk cash to do a 2 week shop and keep bulk supplies in the house in readiness for 14 days inside. It's exactly why you can buy a single toilet roll but at twice the unit price - many only have the cash in hand for that overpriced single.

Food and grocery drops to the door would have managed most of the immediate economic concern, and then detention to quarantine only for those who refuse to comply - the traditional way.

Public service adverts to reduce shaming would also be so helpful right now! In the news today, "family zero" have had to be advised to stay off social media because the attacks on them are so nasty. On top of everything else, how awful for them.

Whoops- posted too soon. I think it's a good thing moving them to hotels. Lots of instances in Melbourne of people not isolating. This might also help in situations where there is a lot of meeting up with extended family across several households, and will limit the impact where there is overcrowding in homes.

Yes to what @Turangawaewae said about needing the cash so not feeling able to stay home. This completely removes the option/burden of choice and a solution will need to be collectively found.
I really feel for that family. This isn't their fault at all and will have enough to deal with without the extra nastiness.

@GreyGardens88

Someone breaking quarantine. This is why NZ policy doesn't make any sense because it's impossible to stop transmission and close yourself off from the world entirely

What! Get your facts correct before rambling such shite

This is interesting. It doesn't look like it came from quarantine and the strain is common in Australia and the UK.

www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/08/it-s-b-1-1-1-kiwi-scientists-identify-virus-family-of-mystery-covid-19-outbreak.html

I wonder if it came from the frozen chips the UK was planning to offload into our markets because demand was down in the pubs there.

I feel for the family too. Everyone will know who they are and they did the right thing. I know heaps of people who've had a cold and not been tested.

Public service adverts to reduce shaming would also be so helpful right now! In the news today, "family zero" have had to be advised to stay off social media because the attacks on them are so nasty. On top of everything else, how awful for them.

Not sure if you mean in NZ or Melbourne, but I was thinking about this earlier when I said it might still have been spreading undetected at a very low level. If you're in a country where the virus has supposedly been eliminated, and you develop a very mild cough, how likely are you to get tested? First it's vastly more likely that it's something other than covid anyway, because there are supposedly no cases in your country. And second you know that if you do test positive your city/country will be put back in lockdown, the entire world will be talking about it, and idiots will shame you on social media as though it's somehow your fault. Much easier to tell yourself it's just a slight cold and carry on, and hope that in the vanishingly unlikely event that it actually is covid, it will be picked up on in someone else before it spreads out of control. The pressure not to get 'found out' (so to speak) must be strong, even if it's subconscious.

The pressure not to get 'found out' (so to speak) must be strong, even if it's subconscious

Indeed and this is where this culture of "shaming" around everything covid is going to backfire massively

In addition there is a nasty undercurrent circulating about expats kiwis returning and possibly infecting the country. My friend's family received a nasty text and verbal abuse from neighbours when she and her family returned to NZ. They had lost their jobs abroad and did the mandatory hotel quarantine and even when released wore masks in stores and kept to themselves.

The pressure not to get 'found out' (so to speak) must be strong, even if it's subconscious.

This. It must be just horrifying for them - they're just the unlucky ones whose cold was covid, as you say. It must have seemed impossible that it would be covid, after all, they hadn't been anywhere abroad or had (knowing) contact with anyone who had - and they understood that there was no covid in NZ at all.

After all their grandstanding NZ is about to have a massive outbreak. I doubt NZ will want to go back to social distancing and lockdown after having free rein of it the past couple of months

Everyone will know who they are and they did the right thing. I know heaps of people who've had a cold and not been tested
of course people should do the right thing but normally we recognise that if we want people to do the right thing we need to incentivise them we need to reward them for doing the right thing.
With covid if you do the right thing you are 'punished' by being made to quarantine and then suffering all that entails

This is interesting. It doesn't look like it came from quarantine and the strain is common in Australia and the UK.

Aussie seems the likely source - and that's why there was - very sensibly - all the mask talk (e.g. mask day at work) and escalated planning in NZ when Aussie's outbreak started to roll out of control.

I do wonder what controls were in place over small (i.e. self crewed) boat craft sailing between Australia and NZ? Historically I think that's been a route suspected of bringing in invasive flora and fauna species - same could apply to COVID.

It was always also going to be high risk keeping the international terminal open to transiting passengers - it should have been very limited inbound repatriation only.

With covid if you do the right thing you are 'punished' by being made to quarantine and then suffering all that entails

Exactly, moreso now that those who test positive (and their household) will be removed from their homes and detained in a quarantine facility. You didn't have to read far between the lines to see that "family zero" very much didn't want to go and were compelled.

I think this is a mistake and will cause people to avoid being tested.

After all their grandstanding NZ is about to have a massive outbreak.

Why?

and why such glee?

NZ hasn't been grandstanding. They have just got on with it.

Exactly!

The “grandstanding “ post was thoroughly unpleasant

Lots of foreign media have been “grandstanding” about NZ’s success. That’s not the same as the country or government themselves grandstanding.