Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has outlined what the government will take into account when making a decision tomorrow (Monday April 20) on whether or not to extend the COVID-19 alert level four.

It has been 25 days since lockdown began, and Jacinda said the government has been successful to date in rolling out the plan to eliminate the virus, adding “the numbers back this up”.

Cabinet will meet tomorrow morning to consider what will happen to the alert levels, and will announce the decision at 4pm the same day.

Jacinda said the factors being taken into consideration are:

1. That the director-general of health is satisfied there is sufficient data from a range of sources to have reasonable certainty that undetected community transmission is unlikely
2. That there is sufficient rigorous and rapid case identification and contact tracing, with search capacity available; and that self isolation, quarantine and borders measures are robust.
3. That there is sufficient capacity in the health service.

Jacinda said the Cabinet will also look at evidence on the effects of the measures on the economy and on society more broadly, including public attitudes.

“This is going to be a long term project for us all,” she said, and a change to the alert level “will not be a return to pre COVID life”.

“More of the economy is able to come back online but our social lives, sadly, will not,” she said.

Jacinda said the lockdown measures have been taken to protect the health of New Zealanders, but while the government does not underestimate the economic impact of the measures: “The best thing for the economy has always been to stop the virus.”

She thanked “a very special group”, small business owners and operators, for their cooperation in implementing the alert level four measures, saying “nobody underestimates how hard this is for all of you”.

PHOTO: Supplied