Yesterday the government took an unexpected decision to retain existing covid protections - already so weak that basically all we have left is a requirement to isolate when sick. And naturally, the opposition is outraged by this:
New Zealand is being labelled a global oddity and "Hermit Kingdom redux" by opposition parties decrying the government's decision to extend the Covid-19 isolation rules.Yes, we're "out of step" with the rest of the world: we can see it in their body counts. Thinking this is a Bad Thing is an example of how business-think values conformity over actual results. And as for "normality", eight people died of covid last week, and its on track to kill a thousand people this year. Anyone who thinks that is "normal" is deranged. Anyone who thinks a thousand deaths a year is an acceptable price to pay for business-as-usual is a sociopathic wannabe mass-murderer, who should not be trusted in charge of a kebab stand, let alone a country. If this is the quality of our opposition, we should all be very, very afraid of how many of us they will kill if they get elected.Ministers yesterday reviewed the mandated seven-day isolation period and decided to keep it in place for at least another two months while they wait for more advice on a potential test-to-release strategy.
ACT leader David Seymour said the government was embarrassingly and bafflingly out of step with most of the world in persisting with the "draconian" requirement.
"New Zealand is becoming almost a kind of Hermit Kingdom 2.0 redux in 2023. Actually, what we need to do is move on and start embracing normality."
