Kia ora John, 

As we reach the halfway point of our country’s lockdown, I wanted to send a quick message to you all to say thank you. Thank you for staying in your homes. Thank you for sticking to your bubbles. And thank you for helping us to save lives.

I also wanted to update you on a couple of announcements that were made today as part of our ongoing response to COVID-19.

I know these last two weeks have not been easy, and I know we’ve got a way to go, but your actions, your sacrifices and our collective efforts to break the chain of transmission are already having an impact. We have turned a corner, and your commitment means our plan is working.

On the eve of the lockdown, modelling had protected that we could be facing as many as 10,000 cases by this point. Instead, today, we have 1,239 cases. This shows us the power of the cumulative action we’ve taken.

But we cannot become complacent. This is a serious virus that requires serious action to stop its spread. That is why today our Government announced that we will be going even further to eliminate COVID-19, focussing on three key areas that we need to be watertight.

First, our borders must be closely managed. That is why from midnight tonight every New Zealander returning home will be required to undergo quarantine or managed isolation in a Government supplied hotel for a minimum of 14-days.

Second, we will be scaling up our contact tracing abilities. Within the next week, we’ll be in a position to release a locally developed app that will assist with contact tracing and will sit alongside the people we have working tirelessly on this job. The more we improve the speed and effectiveness of this process, the better placed we will be to break the chain of transmission.

And finally, although we already have high rates of testing compared to other countries, we want to go even further. In communities where there may have been fewer tests, additional testing will be rolling out to give us greater assurances on whether the positive trends of recent days truly reflect a decline in the spread of the virus.

Alongside everything you’re already doing, these three pillars of border controls, rigorous testing and contact tracing will help ensure that the hard work we’ve already put in isn’t wasted. Now is the time for us to redouble our efforts, and collectively do all we can to limit being in Alert Level 4 for as short a time as possible.

I know that together we can unite against COVID-19. And I know that, because we are already.

So, as we head into Easter I say thank you again to you and your bubble. You have stayed calm, you’ve been strong, you’ve saved lives, and now we need to keep going.

Happy Easter to your bubble, from mine,

Jacinda

P.S. You may have seen we’ve launched a little activity - the Big New Zealand Easter Egg Hunt - to keep the small ones in your lives busy for a while over the coming days! Click here to find out how you and your bubble can get involved if you haven’t already.