Whanganui letters: Another Covid 19 lockdown didn't have to be inevitable

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Tuesday night that the country would go into lockdown following the discovery of Delta case in the community. Photo / Hagen Hopkins

And so it has come to pass, another Covid outbreak, and the whole country is thrust into lockdown.

As our world famous PM advised on the update this afternoon, it was always a matter of when, not if.

That is where I beg to differ. Is anybody else asking themselves, why are we allowing people to come to NZ from areas of high risk and why aren't they required to be vaccinated?

Surely, our world famous government have considered the scenario that requires that everybody that crosses the border into NZ be fully vaccinated and to have returned a negative test before beginning their travel, with a further negative test required in MIQ on day three before being allowed to continue on with their travel/business.

The cost of these continued outbreaks are mounting.

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Occupancy and returnee overview from the MBIE website as of yesterday

Number of people currently in managed isolation facilities: 4056. Number of people currently in quarantine facilities: 69. Projected returnees in the next 14 days: 3316. Total number of people through MIQ facilities since March 26, 2020: 164,505.

Surely it is not too much to expect that these people take on a bit of responsibility personally to ensure that they are not bringing in the virus with them, by getting fully vaccinated and providing a negative test prior to departure.

Some basic common sense: "The virus doesn't move, people move it. We stop moving, the virus stops moving, the virus dies. It's that simple."

The latest outbreak could have been prevented, and the fact that it has occurred is on the government.

Five million people have to shoulder the consequences of this totally avoidable outbreak. Enough is enough. [Abridged]

RUSSELL EADES
Whanganui

Climate change matters

Thank you, John Milnes, for the further call to action on climate change (Chronicle, August 18) following the latest IPCC Report.

New Zealand is falling behind many other nations in its greenhouse gas emission reduction responsibilities.

Whanganui District Council declared a "Climate Emergency" 18 months ago. Since then it has consulted, formed, and adopted Te Rautaki Huringa Āhuarangi – its Climate Change Strategy.

This is available on the council website and we invite readers to familiarise themselves with it.

Last week the relevant committee received the associated Indicative Climate Action Plan which will go to council next month and outlines the areas in which council will address the climate threat from both adaptation and mitigation perspectives.

Action is not only the duty of councils, business, and government; it is also the responsibility of every citizen.

We should all do our bit no matter how insignificant on an individual level that may seem.

I endorse John's call for greater media attention to this critical matter. We all understand the seriousness of Covid.

As huge as that is, unaddressed climate change by comparison is existential.

ALAN TAYLOR
Chair, Infrastructure, Climate Change and Emergency Management Committee
Whanganui District Council
Whanganui

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