Back to work
John Roughan writes (Weekend Herald, April 18) that health is not the only important thing in life. Shall we ask the dead? Or perhaps Simon Thornley of Auckland University? He argues it's not that bad - sort of "C02 is plant food" thinking.
At the time of the lockdown, my long-suffering first wife and I were hosting two doctors, an A&E physician and an anaesthetist. They were repatriated immediately by the British High Commission. One is in the ICU at UCH London - which was shown on TV news recently.
As these two young people are important to me, and Dr Thornley wants to go back to work, boy, have I deal for him: $100,000 dollars for him and another of his brave cohort to take their places in the UK, tomorrow.
Could they intubate "choking" patients, or could they merely count backwards from
10? Perhaps as an epidemiologist much taken with the Swedish experiment - let nature take its course - he can do better. Count past 1000 as the "volunteers" die.
Dennis N Horne, Howick.
Understanding agony
John Roughan (Weekend Herald, April 8) asks for the PM to "sound like she really does understand the agony.." from arguably the most empathetic and personable PM that we have ever had.
One can't help but think that there is some age-old sexism being applied here and Roughan is implying that if a woman isn't weeping, she's not showing enough emotion for her sex.
This regulation of female emotion from older men has no place in 2020 and certainly would not be discussed if the PM were a bloke.
Gabrielle Beran, Takapuna.
Going hard
In response to Chris Parker (Weekend Herald, April 18) when Jacinda Ardern said "go early, go hard" she meant once the decision is made, go for it. Hence the reason the country went from level 2 to level 4 in a week, that was the "go early".
Other countries may have closed their borders before us but their citizens were out and about Intermingling with one another, whereas here the country went into almost total lockdown, that was the "go hard",
As for John Roughan trying to tell us what John Key would have said, I read an article where he pretty much endorsed what the Government is doing.
John Capener, Kawerau.
Grounds for concern
Your columnist Lizzie Marvelly writes of the (now relaxed) ban on "groundspeople" working safely on golf courses being an absurdity (Weekend Herald, April 18). She fails to understand the situation. Unless he gets to work on his magic carpet, the groundsman will have travelled on public transport or in a car, touching doors, seats, handles, perhaps fuel bowsers, and may have been close to other people and possibly their sneezes. He will use the common facilities at his workplace. And all this twice a day.
Yes, we know it's the economy, stupid. But its participants will be reluctant to work, travel, produce and consume until the risk of catching a deadly bug and bringing it home is absolutely minimal. The health of the nation must first be secure, then ramp up the economy.
Derek Smith, Remuera.
Nation's health
Simon Wilson praises the Government for its "health-first" strategy (Weekend Herald, April 18), but the health of a population depends not solely on infection control, but on myriad factors that include income, housing, education and social connectedness, among others.
The threat to humanity posed by a new infectious disease must be taken seriously, but in a democracy surely we can all contribute to the debate on how best to address the problem; attempts to shut down dissent seem arrogant and dangerous.
Andrea Dawe, Sandringham.
A quick word
I was absolutely amazed to read your reference to the TV hosts widening their bubbles to include their hairdressers and makeup artists. We all want to look good. The media should lead by example. Anne Reyes, Pukekohe.
We are seeing what building natural immunity looks like without vaccines: collapsing economies, billions of dollars spent on testing and helping sick people, millions of people out of work, hundreds of thousands of people dying. Andrew Tichbon, Green Bay.
I cannot but agree with correspondent Paul Beck that nurses have long been under-recognised, undervalued and underpaid. The same applies even more so to medical laboratory workers. John Christiansen, Mt Albert.
Thank you John Roughan for your excellent article (Weekend Herald, April 18) challenging the condescending "science is settled" argument. What is the point in "dodging a bullet" if we have to slit our throat to do so? Mark McCluskey, Red Beach.
If people are not alive there will be no economy. It was a disaster for the countries that went back to level 3 too soon from level 4. Mano Manoharan, Hamilton.
What is Alert level 3? To me it is level 4 on elastic. We are all given stretch, but whatever we do we should feel the pull of level 4. Roger Evans, Ranui.
The best thing Ana Mon (Weekend Herald, April 18) and other superannuitants can do with the pension that they obviously don't need is to not claim it from a Government that can't afford to pay it. Lee McIntyre, Mission Bay.
If McDonald's is permitted to open at level 3, so should every single other food outlet - with the proviso that they apply the same service strategy. Andrew Montgomery, Mangere.
It will be interesting to see how the environment adapts to this sudden increase of antibacterial warfare, hopefully it won't be as world-breaking as the hype around the innocent plastic bag threat. Craig Forsberg, Northpark.
There is no bigger a socialist as a capitalist in financial distress. Geoff Nieuwelaar, Whangarei.
Regarding schools opening, it's all or nothing. Nothing is still the best option. Nigel Bufton, Pauanui.
Six feet separation or six feet under. Barry Considine, Kerikeri.
If things ever start to feel too much and you are overcome by a sense of doom, relax and try to remember that things could be worse - Mike Hosking could be PM. Katie Gormley, St Heliers.
