Life At Level 2.5

[msconduct]

After two and a half weeks back in a Level 3 lockdown (a.k.a. Level 4 with takeaway coffee), Auckland’s now moved up to Level 2 with some extra restrictions.

A key difference from our previous Level 2 is in the area of masks. While we in New Zealand were blithely going about our lives in Level 1 with Covid-19 far from our minds, elsewhere the thinking about masks was evolving. Previously they weren’t being recommended and now they are, so Aucklanders have had to come to grips with this all of a sudden. Under Level 2.5, masks are now mandatory on public transport and are “strongly recommended” elsewhere.

Although cases are still occurring in Auckland, they’re all still part of the single cluster that has formed our second outbreak, so contacts of cases are known, and our super-snappy contact tracing system has identified them very quickly. The government’s confident we’ve drawn a ring around the cluster, which is why Auckland’s been let out of prison, I mean lockdown. Jacinda has been very clear, however, that for this to work Aucklanders need to keep being careful about mask-wearing, hand-washing, social distancing and using the contact tracing app.

This was a much shorter lockdown than the first one, but to be honest it felt about as long. Because of that you’d think I’d be itching to get out, but just like the first time, I was struck with Fear Of Going Out. Last time we went to Level 2 we had zero new cases: I was doubtful about the safety of moving out of lockdown with cases still occurring, and I wasn’t the only one. A lot of people were anxious that other people wouldn’t follow the rules.

So it was with some trepidation that I ventured outside today, my desperate need for barista coffee overcoming my caution. I was very happy to see that Aucklanders were complying like whoa. I’d estimate that in the supermarket, vege shop, big box store and café I visited today, mask wearing was at about 90%. Considering this is the first time we’ve ever had to wear them and they're not mandatory, that’s a great result. Let’s just hope we keep it up and can get back to Level 1 soon. I’m wearing a mask, of course, but I’ll be more than happy not to need to.