Tough Measures to Fight #Covid19 Announced in New Zealand Today

New Zealanders have heard a very sobering announcement today from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

The Government has decided to escalate rapidly the level of measures to be taken to fight the Covid-19 virus. The level system was announced on Saturday and set at Level 2. Today it has been raised to Level 3, and from Wednesday it will go to Level 4. See the graphic below for what that means, and check out the government website for the detailed announcement by the Prime Minister: https://covid19.govt.nz/latest-updates/

This is a momentous decision taken to safeguard the health of New Zealanders. It has significant implications for jobs and businesses. The Minister of Finance, Grant Robertson, made another statement on support for the economy today; see here: https://www.beehive.govt.nz/…/govt-takes-significant-econom…

This pandemic can be beaten if we all work together. It is imperative that every New Zealander follows the public health measures put in place. My experience as United Nations Development Programme - UNDP in supporting the response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa several years ago was that it got traction when communities were fully engaged and mobilised. Let New Zealand now be a model of a country whose communities come together to overcome this serious challenge