Covid-19 Coronavirus Delta Outbreak: Grant Robertson Responds to ScoMo Covid Critics

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Three police checkpoints have been set up to stop people entering and leaving Northland during Alert Level 4.

They are located at the intersection SH1 with SH12, Mountain Road in Kaiwaka and Cove Road, near Bream Tail Road.

“We want our whānau and our community to feel safe and we want to reassure our local communities that we have been and will continue to take action where motorists choose to disregard current travel restrictions,” said the Superintendent Tony Hill, Northland District Commander.

There are now 470 places of interest, with new additions including a shopping mall, cinema complex and several bus stops today.

New venues include the New Zealand School of Tourism, St Heliers Shopping Center, Arcadia Games Event Cinema in St Lukes and six 007 bus rides between Green Bay and Glen Eden.

Earlier today, Finance Minister Grant Robertson dismissed Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s criticism of how the country is handling its Covid-19 Delta outbreak.

Morrison compared New Zealand’s focus on eliminating Covid last night with its highly contagious cave-living and “absurd” Delta strain.

“Any state and territory that thinks it can protect itself from Covid with the Delta strain forever is just nonsense,” Morrison told 9 News Breakfast today.

Robertson told Mike Hosking of Newstalk ZB this morning that he disagrees with Morrison and supports the country’s elimination strategy until experts decide otherwise.

“All the experts keep telling us that the best strategy we can adopt right now is elimination.

“I just don’t see it the way Scott Morrison and others present it and certainly every public health expert I speak to is saying what we’re doing right now is exactly the right strategy for Nova Scotia. Zealand. “

Robertson said elimination has given the country one of the strongest economic responses and one of the lowest death rates in the world.

So far this morning, the Department of Health has released eight more place of interest, including three other Pak’nSave supermarkets, two Farmers stores and another college campus.

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“Covid is a different new world,” Morrison said.

“We have to go out and live there. We can’t stay in the cave and we can get out of it safely,” he said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also supported New Zealand’s elimination strategy, telling Coast FM that she was not “too agitated” by what Morrison had said and that all decisions made during the last 18 months were about New Zealand and not what other countries thought.

Epidemiologist Michael Baker told RNZ people need to remember that elimination is still underway in some countries and even some states in Australia.

“This is largely a political statement,” he said of Morrison’s comments. “Elimination is a political choice.”

As for the wage subsidy, Robertson said he expected to see an increase in the number of companies applying for the subsidy.

At present, it was mainly sought after by small businesses.

Money had been set aside for the grant, “the money is there if we have to use it,” he said.

Because the economy had rebounded so well after last year’s foreclosure debt levels fell below expectations.

Briscoe Group boss Rod Duke told Hosking it was both a reputation decision and a final decision not to take the wage subsidy this time around.

“It’s probably a bit of both. I think we think it’s probably not going to last that long and have more effect this time around.”

However, that view could change if New Zealand finds itself locked in like some Australian states.

Duke said he expected the government to take a regional approach to pull the country out of lockdown.

“I can see the South Island probably coming out of level four as early as possible to start.

“I can see the reason for leaving the whole North Island given that the two big centers of Wellington and Auckland are struggling. I think with Friday’s meeting I honestly think you will see the South Island reach at least level three. “