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Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Covid 19 coronavirus Jo Raphael: Aucklanders who escape lockdown are putting us at risk

Rotorua Daily Post
3 Mar, 2021 08:00 PM3 mins to read

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Case L, the sister of a Papatoetoe High School student, wasn't isolating at home and went to work at KFC Botany three days before she tested positive for the virus. PM Jacinda Ardern said about 15 texts and phone calls were made to the family.

OPINION

It's okay to be angry.

Go ahead, feel your feelings - don't bottle them up.

It's what we've been told, in order to keep our mental health and wellbeing stable.

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We've run the gamut of emotions since the country was plunged into yet another lockdown last weekend.

Even Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expressed her frustration at the situation and at the people involved but was at pains to emphasise that they are dealing with young people and language barriers.

One of the people at the centre of the Papatoetoe cluster who went into her workplace has hit back, saying the PM should apologise for vilifying her.

She says her sister, who was considered a casual-plus contact, received a text message saying she needed to isolate but family members did not. She went to work at KFC on Tuesday February 23 and tested positive on Friday February 26.

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While I agree that there needs to be clear communication from the ministry over who needs to isolate and who doesn't, a certain amount of personal responsibility needs to come in to play.

If a person I lived with was told to isolate, but I wasn't, then I would query that information and self-isolate anyway, as a precaution, despite the advice given. Better safe than sorry.

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Surely someone who works in a place that handles food would also think to be extra cautious about the possibility of spreading the virus.

Also in the spotlight this week were Aucklanders who, after the Saturday evening lockdown announcement, packed up and headed to other parts of the country under level 2 restrictions.

Auckland is under level 3 restrictions. Photo / File
Auckland is under level 3 restrictions. Photo / File

While they technically did not do anything wrong, in my opinion, morally is another story.

The level 3 restriction for Auckland was imminent and those who escaped and didn't take level 3 with them have potentially put the rest of us at risk, and that angers me.

Auckland mayor Phil Goff said it best: "Those who live in Auckland and who deliberately beat the deadline to get out of it clearly didn't give any consideration as to why the restrictions were being put into place ... Frankly, it's not smart and it's not in the spirit of acting responsibly to protect the community."

While it doesn't help to turn on each other at times like these, we must acknowledge our feelings and move on.

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Anger, in my view, is entirely the appropriate emotion to feel here.

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