Covid 19 coronavirus: Jo Raphael: PM's actions show zero tolerance for Covid-19

COMMENT:

Zero.

It's a number we've come to rejoice in over the past few weeks.

"Zero new cases of Covid-19 reported."

"No new deaths."

It's a number that we all hope to hear from Dr Ashley Bloomfield's daily 1pm announcements.

We breathe a sigh of relief. Fantastic news.

While we in New Zealand have apparently stamped out the virus, and are starting to settle into our new normal, places such as the United Kingdom, Brazil, and the United States are still, heartbreakingly, reporting thousands of deaths and people testing positive for the virus each day.

The US has just broken 100,000 deaths. President Donald Trump triumphantly tells reporters he wears the high numbers testing positive like a "badge of honour".

Trump continues to defy his own government's advice despite several people close to him and Vice President Mike Pence testing positive for the virus — showing the world his empathy for the plight of Americans is zero.

Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, earlier dismissed the virus as a "little flu", while the death toll in his country is now more than 1000 a day.

The fact that Bolsonaro ousted two health ministers because they disagreed with him over social isolation measures shows his grasp on reality is zero.

UK's Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was hospitalised in intensive care with the virus and alarmingly revealed earlier this month doctors made plans to announce his death.

Yet he has caused confusion and anger among the population, by changing the "stay at home" messaging to "stay alert", showing he has zero foresight and zero hindsight.

The dichotomy between our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and these world leaders is mind-boggling.

While Ardern has faced criticism over the strictness of our lockdown, her actions are being praised around the world.

"Going hard and going early" means thousands of Kiwi lives have been spared.

Our economy and our livelihoods are taking huge blows. But it was always going to happen, lockdown or no lockdown.

Covid-19 has ravaged the world's economies and why do we think we could come away unscathed?

But at least we are here and we have the tools and the attitude to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off.

Those who complained about our lockdown can at least be grateful they are alive to complain.

Meanwhile, yesterday in New Zealand — "zero new cases of Covid-19", "no additional deaths".

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website