Luke Kirkness: Mask use is down but the time to follow health protocols is as important as ever

Covid-19 still has a strong hold on the country but some people seem to be forgetting how damaging it can be. Photo / Alex Burton

"Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive."

I've been thinking about that quote from businessman Andy Grove quite a bit lately, specifically connected to Covid-19.

I don't think Grove had a pandemic in mind when he penned the saying, but it matches perfectly with our present situation.

Last I checked, New Zealand is still firmly in the grips of the Covid-19 vice but for some reason, plenty of people have started to ignore the public health advice around the virus.

The Ministry of Health website says to protect yourself and others, it's important to stay home if you're ill, to get vaccinated, wear a face covering, use basic hygiene and practise physical distancing.

These are messages we've become well accustomed to since the pandemic started in Wuhan, China, some 29 months or so ago.

We've seen case numbers skyrocket and countless deaths the world over, but bad habits such as not wearing a mask when you should appear to be becoming normal.

Why?

I don't think it's a matter of short-term memory or a lack of wanting to follow advice but rather a matter of complacency.

New Zealand did incredibly well in 2020 to rid the country of the virus, but it returned last year in the more-transmissible variants Delta and Omicron.

Each day there are still thousands of new cases, with 5549 on Sunday.

It comes after New Zealand's borders opened up again and MIQ facilities shut down, including the last in Rotorua - at the Sudima Hotel - last week.

Many people, including myself, have had the virus but the numbers would suggest most people haven't, with the Ministry of Health reporting 1,307,044 total confirmed cases when our population is about 5 million.

The actual number is probably higher than what's recorded, given there are those who did not know they had the virus or didn't report any positive results to the ministry.

Believe what you may about masks, vaccinations or physical distancing, the people I know who haven't had the virus are the most stringent followers of the public health advice - or, in my interpretation of Grove's quote, the paranoid ones.

With our borders now open and as other illnesses, such as gastro and influenza, starting to make their way back into the community, the time to follow public health advice is as important as it's ever been.

We know first hand what can be achieved when working as a collective. Let's work together, not separately.