Kia ora!
Two to 2, or more precisely two days to Alert Level 2. At precisely 11:59 on Wednesday the 13th of May, Aotearoa drops to COVID-19 Alert Level 2. The announcement today came as a nice 71st birthday present.
Life at Alert Level 2
Life at Alert Level 2 means we will be able resume most of our everyday activities — but but with strings attached.
- Businesses will be able to open if they can do it safely.
- We’ll be able go in-store at local businesses.
- Tertiary education facilities, schools and early learning centres will be open.
- We’ll be able to travel between regions.
- Gatherings such as weddings, funerals, tangihanga, religious ceremonies and social gatherings will be permitted — but only for up to 10 people.
- We’ll be able to socialise with friends and family— but only in groups of up to 10 people.
- We’ll be able to visit local cafes and restaurants bars and pubs to have a meal— but only in groups of up to 10 people.
- We can return to our regular recreation activities— but only in groups of up to 10 people.
The 10-person limit will expand over time depending on the rate of new infections.
With strings attached
Life will still have some way to go before we can consider it “normal” and we will have some restrictions for some time.
- We need to maintain physical distancing.
- Tight controls at the borders. Mandatory 14 day quarantine will continue for all arrivals
- Wide-scale testing will continue. We now have one of the highest testing rates in the world.
- Self-isolation for anyone who feels unwell and the same applies to their close contacts.
- Only small, controlled gatherings will be permitted.
- Physical distancing, hygiene standards and contact registers will be required for most businesses.
- A maximum of 100 people at any indoor or outdoor event. For example a restaurant can cater for 100 seated guests, but no group booking can be accepted for more than 10 people.
I can live with those for an extended period if need be.
kia haumaru, kia kaha
Keep safe, Keep strong
Another Spectrum 
11 May, 2020 at 10:48 pm
Keep safe
11 May, 2020 at 10:59 pm
No guarantees, but I’ll do my best.
So far Kenya seems to be relatively safe. Our death rate is approximately 10 times that of yours. I hope your nation can keep it that low. How confident are you that Kenya can keep it low?
11 May, 2020 at 11:03 pm
It will most likely remain that low as a combination of many factors. The restrictions. Maybe the weather. And our pop distribution both in terms of density and age
11 May, 2020 at 11:10 pm
Yes, when you overlay the infection rate over a world map ove population density, the relationship can be seen. It;s even more obvious if you remove cities and their populations from the equation. It certainly explains why Europe and parts of America have recorded such high infection rates.
11 May, 2020 at 11:20 pm
The total cases in Africa are still below 50K. So i think the whole continent might have dodged the bullet
13 May, 2020 at 1:35 am
We’re still dying in the UK. In the week to 1 May, there were 8000 more deaths than average for that week. But we’re going back to work anyway, without proper testing.
Belatedly, happy birthday.
13 May, 2020 at 10:31 am
Thank you for the birthday wishes.
I know its not helpful to compare infection rates or death rates between countries as circumstances differ greatly, but I am extremely grateful to be living in Aotearoa New Zealand at the moment.
People will continue to argue the best course of action for some time, but on the evidence I have seen, our going early and hard was our best option.