Covid 19 coronavirus: Dylan Thorne - Living in a bubble in the eye of the storm

Kiwis are breathing a sigh of relief after making it through immediate threat of Covid-19. Photo / File

COMMENT:

It feels like we're living in a bubble sitting in the eye of the storm.

Kiwis are breathing a sigh of relief after making it through the immediate and serious health threat of Covid-19. It took unprecedented action, decisive leadership and collective sacrifice, financial and personal, to make it to this point.

After a lengthy lockdown, the move to alert level 1 this week saw the country return to a way of life similar to the one that preceded the arrival of the deadly virus. Level 1 meant most people could return to their workplaces, restrictions on the size of social gatherings were lifted as were those on domestic travel.

Peak hour traffic jams, sadly, were also back - highlighting the return to normality.

You only have to see the impact coronavirus is having around the world to see how unique our position is.

The virus is relentlessly sweeping the globe the number of new daily cases of Covid-19 globally hit a record high on Sunday, according to the World Health Organisation. The UN agency has warned the pandemic appeared to be worsening and has urged countries that had seen an improvement to remain vigilant.

The pandemic has infected more than seven million people worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University figures, with more than 400,000 deaths. More than a quarter of the deaths have been in the United States

Some may debate whether the Government's lockdown needed to be so wide-ranging but the fact New Zealand now has the enviable status of having zero active cases suggests, in my view, the right call was made.

However, while we celebrate the gradual loosening of restrictions, a new threat looms. The country is already grappling with the economic impact of the lockdown and it appears the worst is yet to come.

The full financial impact has been cushioned by the Government's wage subsidy scheme.

The first tranche of the 12-week policy – first announced on March 17 – came to an end this week. And Finance Minister Grant Robertson said today the second tranche - which runs until August 9 - would be it; there would not be a third extension.

The concern is: what happens when the subsidy comes to an end?

Early economic reports paint a grim picture. An Infometrics report, commissioned by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council released last month projected that the coronavirus crisis could see the region lose $776 million in earnings and almost 15,000 jobs by March next year.

We can only hope that these early estimates don't eventuate - that the economic impact and resulting hardship is not quite so severe. There is also something we can do to lessen the blow - Go Local and support local businesses, as well as the embattled tourism and hospitality sectors.

They have all had to make huge sacrifices to get New Zealand to this point, they deserve and need our ongoing support.