That’s all changed though. Because, as of midnight last night, there’s no more isolation and masks are out the window in most places too.
Although, healthcare facilities are still on the list of places where we’ll kind of be expected to wear one. I say “kind of” because that’s been my experience recently.
I’ve visited a couple of people in hospital and the mask requirements have been a bit haphazard. Then you go to a pharmacy and you feel bad if you’re not wearing a mask - but then you realise that hardly anyone else is, so you feel ok about it.
And so it was yesterday afternoon when the Prime Minister and the Health Minister jumped on the podium and announced that, at midnight, we’d be like the rest of the world and the Covid restrictions would become history.
Which had a touch of the old lockdown announcements about it. Often they were out of the blue and we found out that something would be happening at midnight.
Things were run like a terrorist organisation and we only found out at the last minute what we had to do and when we had to do it.
But, as of today, we don’t have to do anything. We just have to use a bit of the old common sense. If we’re sick, stay home. Which is how it should have been long before now.
Because how nuts was it that, up until midnight last night, you might have had Covid and felt perfectly fine but had to lock yourself away at home for seven days. But if it wasn’t Covid you could go wherever you want. Even if you felt and looked like death warmed up.
Even if you had something that could spread just as easily and be just as much of a threat to someone else as Covid. But, because you didn’t have the dreaded two lines on the Rapid Antigen Test, you didn’t have to do the seven days home detention.
So I think it’s brilliant that the Government has done what it should’ve done ages ago, and ditched these restrictions.
Don’t get me wrong. They had their place. Especially when we were still getting our heads around the different variants and while we were getting the vaccination rates up. So you won’t hear me saying the approach was wrong all along.
In hindsight, I think most people would agree that the whole elimination thing was a pipedream. Remember that? “We are going to stamp this thing out come hell or high water”. But, at the time, we were more than happy to bask in the elimination glory, weren’t we? Once it lasted.
And yes, in hindsight, we were kidding ourselves. But the approach was right for the time. And once the Government itself realised that elimination was a pipedream, it felt like it was leaving us to our own devices more than it had.
I distinctly remember the day when I realised that the Government was holding up the surrender sign. It felt very different. But, even then, the home isolation rule stuck around like a bad smell. Not anymore, though.
And today, different people will be feeling different things about the Government’s decision to do away with the Covid requirements.
Some will think it’s been overdue. Some will think the timing is about right. While others will be thinking that it’s too soon. And they’ll be the people who are still terrified of Covid. It might be because they had a really bad experience with it; or they might be dealing with long Covid; or they might have a health condition which means Covid will always be a more significant threat to them than it is to other people.
There will also be people who aren’t necessarily at-risk themselves, but who find it weird that - even though Spring is on the horizon - we are still technically in winter and hospitals are still under significant strain from the usual winter stuff.
We’ve got emergency departments shutting down. After-hours clinics closing the doors overnight. So, yes, it could seem like weird timing to be pulling the plug on restrictions that came about not just to limit the spread of Covid but also to prevent hospitals being overwhelmed with patients.
And I can see why some people might think that. But, as far as I’m concerned, I think the changes that came into force overnight were way overdue. And I think the Government has - eventually - got around to doing the right thing.
John MacDonald is the Canterbury Mornings host on Newstalk ZB Christchurch. This article was first published HERE
And so it was yesterday afternoon when the Prime Minister and the Health Minister jumped on the podium and announced that, at midnight, we’d be like the rest of the world and the Covid restrictions would become history.
Which had a touch of the old lockdown announcements about it. Often they were out of the blue and we found out that something would be happening at midnight.
Things were run like a terrorist organisation and we only found out at the last minute what we had to do and when we had to do it.
But, as of today, we don’t have to do anything. We just have to use a bit of the old common sense. If we’re sick, stay home. Which is how it should have been long before now.
Because how nuts was it that, up until midnight last night, you might have had Covid and felt perfectly fine but had to lock yourself away at home for seven days. But if it wasn’t Covid you could go wherever you want. Even if you felt and looked like death warmed up.
Even if you had something that could spread just as easily and be just as much of a threat to someone else as Covid. But, because you didn’t have the dreaded two lines on the Rapid Antigen Test, you didn’t have to do the seven days home detention.
So I think it’s brilliant that the Government has done what it should’ve done ages ago, and ditched these restrictions.
Don’t get me wrong. They had their place. Especially when we were still getting our heads around the different variants and while we were getting the vaccination rates up. So you won’t hear me saying the approach was wrong all along.
In hindsight, I think most people would agree that the whole elimination thing was a pipedream. Remember that? “We are going to stamp this thing out come hell or high water”. But, at the time, we were more than happy to bask in the elimination glory, weren’t we? Once it lasted.
And yes, in hindsight, we were kidding ourselves. But the approach was right for the time. And once the Government itself realised that elimination was a pipedream, it felt like it was leaving us to our own devices more than it had.
I distinctly remember the day when I realised that the Government was holding up the surrender sign. It felt very different. But, even then, the home isolation rule stuck around like a bad smell. Not anymore, though.
And today, different people will be feeling different things about the Government’s decision to do away with the Covid requirements.
Some will think it’s been overdue. Some will think the timing is about right. While others will be thinking that it’s too soon. And they’ll be the people who are still terrified of Covid. It might be because they had a really bad experience with it; or they might be dealing with long Covid; or they might have a health condition which means Covid will always be a more significant threat to them than it is to other people.
There will also be people who aren’t necessarily at-risk themselves, but who find it weird that - even though Spring is on the horizon - we are still technically in winter and hospitals are still under significant strain from the usual winter stuff.
We’ve got emergency departments shutting down. After-hours clinics closing the doors overnight. So, yes, it could seem like weird timing to be pulling the plug on restrictions that came about not just to limit the spread of Covid but also to prevent hospitals being overwhelmed with patients.
And I can see why some people might think that. But, as far as I’m concerned, I think the changes that came into force overnight were way overdue. And I think the Government has - eventually - got around to doing the right thing.
John MacDonald is the Canterbury Mornings host on Newstalk ZB Christchurch. This article was first published HERE
2 comments:
I don't know anyone, other than some health professionals, who observed the 7-day isolation rule for Covid over the past 6 months.
If you felt sick you took some time off until you felt better, just like anyone else.
If you knew someone who was sick you just didn't test yourself. When was the last time someone died from Covid or was seriously hospitalised - so far back I can't remember.
I had to go in to several medical places during this time. One for a minor operation. Only some of the staff were wearing or half-wearing masks (round the mouth only which made me laugh) so, despite the sign on the door, most patients including myself quickly whipped their masks off.
I never got sick once. Probably because the standard mask does bugger all in preventing infection from viruses so you were no more at risk.
Persevering with pointless rules way past their use-by date is a specialty of this control-driven government. Then they expect gratitude and congratulations for removing something that was serving no purpose.
Ever since the 1st level 4 lockdown where all the sheeple so quickly obeyed their great leader ardern, bowing and worshipping before her, I knew something was completely off. On the official nz govt health website, it actually said right from the beginning that covid was a mild disease for most. It said that. So why did most of us agree to lock downs and our economy to come to a grand screeching holt? Those of us who did speak out were often told " So you want millions to die do you?" Why then did the govt website say " covid is a mild illness for most." Thousands of kiwis were locked out of their country due to it being a mild illness for most. And yet the sheeple voted these idiots back in!!
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