In case you haven’t heard, New Zealand is back in lockdown after the country recorded seven new COVID cases which have been linked to the Delta outbreak in Sydney.
New Zealand is one of only a handful of countries which have managed the pandemic well thus far, perhaps even better then Australia has. That’s why the government is keen to quash this outbreak early and avoid a repeat of the clusterfuck that’s currently unfolding in NSW.
At a press conference to announce the strict, nation-wide lockdown on Tuesday night, Kiwi Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pointed to Australia literally and metaphorically to make it clear that she had learned from the mistakes those of us in Sydney are now having to deal with.
A journalist at the presser then asked how she will convince people that it’s important to stay home this time around.
“In Australia, we’ve seen problems with compliance. What is your message to people who question the need for an alert level 4 lockdown?” the reporter asked.
To this, Ardern literally pointed westwards and said: “Australia.”
That’s it. We’re all the evidence you need to convince people that Delta does not fuck around, apparently.
Kiwi journo: “What is your message to people who question the need for an alert level 4 lockdown?”
Jacinda Ardern: *points westward* “Australia.” pic.twitter.com/XkkEGc7K8o
— Zac Crellin (@zacrellin) August 18, 2021
“We just need to look overseas at what has happened there,” Ardern continued.
“Because of some of the decisions of those covered by those lockdowns, some whom may not have necessarily followed the rules , it has essentially extended the period of time that they’re there.
“New Zealand hasn’t had that same experience. For those periods we’ve had lockdowns, by and large, there’s been really good compliance.”
Then, in case it wasn’t already abundantly clear, Ardern mentioned S*dney by name.
“So I just say to to Kiwis: do what you’ve done before. We want to be short and sharp rather than light and long,” the New Zealand PM said.
“We’ve seen what happened in Sydney. We don’t want that experience here.”
