“The Government has failed the Transparency Day test, with most of the critical questions that lead to lifting restrictions not answered,” according to ACT Leader David Seymour.
“Last night, I set out the information that New Zealanders need to know to understand what is happening: How far along the chains of transmission has the Government traced and tested? How far is the Government from its self-selected goal of isolating the virus by the end of Friday so that restrictions can be lifted?
“Unfortunately, the Prime Minister has again taken to the podium but revealed little in the way of information. Nobody in the Government has answered the critical questions about whether we’re on track to lift restrictions tomorrow.
“Here are the questions and whether they’ve been answered:
• How many chains of transmission are being traced?
Answered: The Ministry of Health has reassured us that all positive results are part of the same cluster.
• Where are they?
Answered: The Ministry of Health has reassured us that all of these cases are in Auckland.
• How many contacts have been called?
Not answered: We have no idea, from the information released, how many contacts have been traced or how many have been contacted.
• How many have been isolated?
Not answered: Without knowing how many contacts have been identified and contacted, it is difficult to know how many have been isolated.
• How many have been tested?
Not answered: We know how many tests have been done, notwithstanding the lag in processing and reporting, but we don’t know how many are in aid of tracing the outbreak as opposed to people getting tested because they feel ill.
• What are the test results?
Not answered: Not knowing how many people have been traced, contacted, isolated or tested, it is impossible to understand how much testing is being done to actually trace the outbreak.
“Altogether, the Government has left us open to a rolling maul of surprises with little indication of the real progress towards containment. New Zealanders deserve to be treated like adults and brought into the Government’s confidence.”