Level One is Not Level None

So, what is it like now?

I have started this post so many times (and had it completely written last weekend before Blogger ate it somehow. Argh!) And now we are one year into this pandemic!

The approach New Zealand has taken is quite different from the countries where Covid is raging - mostly due to our very strict lockdown last year, which lasted 5 weeks, as well as our strict border controls. However, it is also different to some Asian countries who also stomped out the virus quickly and without shutting their borders. 

Our government decided to take swift and decisive action nearly a year ago, implementing a Level system. The details of the Levels have altered slightly to be more flexible over the past several months, but generally have stayed the same.  New Zealand was in Level 4 - the strictest level - for five weeks and then moved down the levels slowly until we reached the almost-normal Level 1 last June.  Since then, the majority of Covid cases in New Zealand have been in the quarantine hotels at the border. A few cases have jumped the border into the community and were met with either swift testing/tracing and/or an increase in the Level for a short period of time.

As our Health Director Dr. Bloomfield has reminded us, Level 1 is not Level None.  There are still some restrictions in place, and masks are now mandatory on almost all forms of transport. Beyond that, there are still hints that not all is 'normal' and that society in general is ready to transition to a higher Level if required: grocery stores have kept their plexiglass barriers in place, most stores still have indicators on the ground for proper physical distancing, and the QR Tracing system signs are everywhere - even on the bus!  Doctors and dentists have remained vigilant despite the drop in levels, as they are most at risk of coming into contact with someone who is unwell.

When levels do change, stores immediately post signs showing how many people are allowed in the store at a time, gyms send out emails reminding members of the rules for that particular level, and the government sends out the loudest text message alert I have ever received.

Because we are in such a good position, though, any new community case is a BIG DEAL. The government springs into action with interviews of those infected to figure out where they may have contracted the disease, and where they may have gone in public during the infectious period. Tracers aim to contact and test 85% of close contacts within 24 hours. Testing not only works to figure out the epidemiological link (i.e. how did it pass from person to person), but also maps the genome. This informs the response - is the genome new? Connected to a particular case at the border quarantine? What is the variant? Unlike cases in the US and Europe, we aim to figure out where every case originated. We even test the wastewater on a weekly basis to determine if Covid is in the community undetected.

This is great, right? Is it? Or do we know too much about how the virus is spread? In the latest cluster, the media released a fairly detailed diagram of the families involved and how the virus spread between them.  In one case, one mother caught it from another during an (outdoor!) walk.

Having this information gives me a sense of panic when I see that some states in the US are opening indoor dining and theme parks, eschewing the use of masks and distancing, and even opening schools. We may not always pinpoint how the virus jumps the border, but we do know how it has transmitted between people. This is our 'normal' and will be for months to come.