In its second open letter to New Zealanders, NZHR has said if Kiwis continue to stick to the rules, the number of new cases may be close to zero by the end of April.
“If the number of active cases, or daily prevalence figures, continue to trend down at the same rate that they have been doing since the high point of 748 cases on April 5th, they will be close to zero by the end of April. If they stay that way kiwis will have nipped COVID-19 in the bud,” says NZHR Chief Executive Chris Higgins.
Producing graphs from the Ministry of Health’s latest COVID-19 data, NZHR has mapped the results of New Zealand’s lockdown measures, showing a promising trajectory of dwindling cases.
Most importantly, Mr Higgins says the success depends on every Kiwi sticking to the right measures. “Our message therefore to all kiwis is: Hang in there. Don’t be complacent. Trust the science. Don’t undermine the trust in science. Stay in our bubbles. Save lives.”
The message follows NZHR’s first open letter to New Zealanders, “zip it, sweetie!”, which called for a stop to non-expert negative opinions threatening to undermine public confidence in the science behind the government’s COVID-19 response.