A Covid Plan?

17Jul21

[Published letter to the Editor, The Press 15 July 2021 in response to https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/300354397/covid19-we-need-a-plan-to-open-fortress-nz

---

Dear Sir/Madam

Re Amanda Vance’s Stuff piece (11 July): the last thing New Zealand needs is a singular plan and a botched Boris-like timetable.  A premature “Freedom Day” on 19 July will see many UK legal Covid restrictions removed just as a third wave of the virus is taking off like Branson’s Unity, but with less prospect of a soft landing.

This timetable, with adult vaccination not completed until September, has raised false  expectations and increased risk levels.  The situation has not been helped by the hosting at Wembley of European Championship football matches, potential super duper spreader events both at the stadium and elsewhere.

In order to keep responding appropriately to a rapidly evolving virus what New Zealand needs is sophisticated scenario planning to take account of a wide range of possibilities, not just one outcome however much desired.

Adaptability and flexibility are the keys as events unfold not spurious certainty.

Delta Dawn, which this country recently avoided by a combination of luck and good management, is not just the name of a classic Helen Reddy hit, as New South Wales and Fiji are discovering to their cost.

Regards

Lyall Lukey

Filed under: Uncategorized   |  1 Comment
Tags: Covid Plan