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← Previous revision Revision as of 00:00, 9 December 2021
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In October 2021, as the New Zealand Government outlined the plan to ease restrictions in Auckland, Plank noted that this was a very uncertain part of the pandemic and the proposed changes indicated a move from the “relative certainty of the elimination phase into the stage where we are seeing increasing cases in the community, and we are relying on a combination of restrictions and the vaccine to keep a lid on case numbers as we get more people vaccinated.” He expressed concerns that if the virus got out of Auckland, it could have devastating effects on vulnerable communities that had low rates of vaccination, and concluded that “any further loosening of restrictions until we have got a picture of what the consequence of the most recent easing was could potentially cause things to spiral very rapidly.”<ref>{{Cite news|last=Witton|first=Bridie|date=11 October 2021|title=Covid-19: Pandemic remains on ‘knife edge’ after Government eases restrictions|work=stuff|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/126636555/covid19-pandemic-remains-on-knife-edge-after-government-eases-restrictions|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref>
In October 2021, as the New Zealand Government outlined the plan to ease restrictions in Auckland, Plank noted that this was a very uncertain part of the pandemic and the proposed changes indicated a move from the “relative certainty of the elimination phase into the stage where we are seeing increasing cases in the community, and we are relying on a combination of restrictions and the vaccine to keep a lid on case numbers as we get more people vaccinated.” He expressed concerns that if the virus got out of Auckland, it could have devastating effects on vulnerable communities that had low rates of vaccination, and concluded that “any further loosening of restrictions until we have got a picture of what the consequence of the most recent easing was could potentially cause things to spiral very rapidly.”<ref>{{Cite news|last=Witton|first=Bridie|date=11 October 2021|title=Covid-19: Pandemic remains on ‘knife edge’ after Government eases restrictions|work=stuff|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/126636555/covid19-pandemic-remains-on-knife-edge-after-government-eases-restrictions|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref>
The New Zealand Prime Minister [[Jacinda Ardern]] announced that Auckland would end its lockdown on 3 December 2021 as the country moved into the COVID-19 Protection Framework (also known as the Traffic Light warning system),<ref name=”Traffic lights”>{{Cite web|date=4 December 2021|title=COVID-19 Protection Framework (traffic lights)|url=https://covid19.govt.nz/traffic-lights/covid-19-protection-framework/|url-status=live|access-date=9 December 2021|website=Te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa New Zealand Government}}</ref><ref name=”Health Navigator”>{{Cite web|date=7 December 2021|title=COVID-19 protection framework|url=https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/health-a-z/c/covid-19-protection-framework/|url-status=live|access-date=9 December 2021|website=Health Navigator New Zealand}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Small|first=Zane|date=29 November 2021|title=COVID-19 Protection Framework ‘traffic light’ settings released for New Zealand|work=Newshub|url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/11/covid-19-protection-framework-traffic-light-settings-released-for-new-zealand.html|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> and Plank recommended that people going out of Auckland for holidays should consider “not visiting regions or communities with low vaccination rates’…[and warned]…”once schools and workplaces go back in the new year, the virus will be able to spread more easily and there is a danger that case numbers could take off with multiple outbreaks across the country.”<ref>{{Cite news|last=Peters|first=Tom|date=23 November 2021|title=New Zealand: Auckland lockdown to end on December 3 even though Delta surge continues|work=WSWS.Org|url=https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/11/25/nzco-n25.html|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> After initially expressing concerns that the easing of restrictions was risky,<ref name=”Risky”>{{Cite news|date=9 November 2021|title=Covid-19: Experts at odds over move to traffic light system|work=RNZ|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/455278/covid-19-experts-at-odds-over-move-to-traffic-light-system|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Quinn|first=Rowan|date=29 November 2021|title=Auckland case numbers ‘inch downwards’ but expert warns that could change|work=RNZ|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/456778/auckland-case-numbers-inch-downwards-but-expert-warns-that-could-change|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> Plank said that the move to Red on the traffic light framework, was reasonable because of the good vaccination rates in the city and evidence that case numbers had levelled and hospitalisations were manageable. He cautioned, however, it was important to address gaps in vaccine coverage as “the virus will find and exploit these gaps so we must redouble our efforts to fill them.”<ref>{{Cite news|last=Neilson|first=Michael|date=30 November 2021|title=Live: Auckland set for ‘red’ summer as traffic light decisions questioned|work=NZ Herald|url=https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/covid-19/covid-19-delta-outbreak-red-for-auckland-under-new-traffic-light-system-but-dont-expect-green-any-time-soon/|format= Posted on Newstalk ZB site|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> Plank had earlier stated that New Zealand had been able to re-define elimination in practice as zero tolerance for transmission of the virus in the community and this move to a suppression approach was likely to result in greater freedoms for New Zealand citizens and a more managed border control because of good vaccination rates “cutting the [[Basic reproduction number|R number]] to around half what it would be with no vaccine…[and because the country had]…access to the vaccine before being exposed to the virus is a luxury people in most countries didn’t have.”<ref>{{Cite news|last=Plank|first=Michael|date=6 October 2021|title=NZ’s approach to Covid is changing. But we are absolutely not waving the white flag|work=The Spinoff|url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/covid-19/06-10-2021/nzs-approach-is-changing-but-we-are-not-waving-a-white-flag-at-covid-19|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref>
The New Zealand Prime Minister [[Jacinda Ardern]] announced that Auckland would end its lockdown on 3 December 2021 as the country moved into the COVID-19 Protection Framework (also known as the Traffic Light warning system),<ref name=”Traffic lights”>{{Cite web|date=4 December 2021|title=COVID-19 Protection Framework (traffic lights)|url=https://covid19.govt.nz/traffic-lights/covid-19-protection-framework/|url-status=live|access-date=9 December 2021|website=Te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa New Zealand Government}}</ref><ref name=”Health Navigator”>{{Cite web|date=7 December 2021|title=COVID-19 protection framework|url=https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/health-a-z/c/covid-19-protection-framework/|url-status=live|access-date=9 December 2021|website=Health Navigator New Zealand}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Small|first=Zane|date=29 November 2021|title=COVID-19 Protection Framework ‘traffic light’ settings released for New Zealand|work=Newshub|url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/11/covid-19-protection-framework-traffic-light-settings-released-for-new-zealand.html|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> and Plank recommended that people going out of Auckland for holidays should consider “not visiting regions or communities with low vaccination rates’…[and warned]…”once schools and workplaces go back in the new year, the virus will be able to spread more easily and there is a danger that case numbers could take off with multiple outbreaks across the country.”<ref>{{Cite news|last=Peters|first=Tom|date=23 November 2021|title=New Zealand: Auckland lockdown to end on December 3 even though Delta surge continues|work=WSWS.Org|url=https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/11/25/nzco-n25.html|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> After initially expressing concerns that the easing of restrictions was risky,<ref name=”Risky”>{{Cite news|date=9 November 2021|title=Covid-19: Experts at odds over move to traffic light system|work=RNZ|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/455278/covid-19-experts-at-odds-over-move-to-traffic-light-system|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Quinn|first1=Rowan|last2=Patterson|first2=Jane|date=29 November 2021|title=Auckland case numbers ‘inch downwards’ but expert warns that could change|work=RNZ|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/456778/auckland-case-numbers-inch-downwards-but-expert-warns-that-could-change|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> Plank said that the move to Red on the traffic light framework, was reasonable because of the good vaccination rates in the city and evidence that case numbers had levelled and hospitalisations were manageable. He cautioned, however, it was important to address gaps in vaccine coverage as “the virus will find and exploit these gaps so we must redouble our efforts to fill them.”<ref>{{Cite news|last=Neilson|first=Michael|date=30 November 2021|title=Live: Auckland set for ‘red’ summer as traffic light decisions questioned|work=NZ Herald|url=https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/covid-19/covid-19-delta-outbreak-red-for-auckland-under-new-traffic-light-system-but-dont-expect-green-any-time-soon/|format= Posted on Newstalk ZB site|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> Plank had earlier stated that New Zealand had been able to re-define elimination in practice as zero tolerance for transmission of the virus in the community and this move to a suppression approach was likely to result in greater freedoms for New Zealand citizens and a more managed border control because of good vaccination rates “cutting the [[Basic reproduction number|R number]] to around half what it would be with no vaccine…[and because the country had]…access to the vaccine before being exposed to the virus is a luxury people in most countries didn’t have.”<ref>{{Cite news|last=Plank|first=Michael|date=6 October 2021|title=NZ’s approach to Covid is changing. But we are absolutely not waving the white flag|work=The Spinoff|url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/covid-19/06-10-2021/nzs-approach-is-changing-but-we-are-not-waving-a-white-flag-at-covid-19|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref>
==Memberships==
==Memberships==