“Jacinda Ardern is already at Level 1 and today she must allow the rest of the country to join her there,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Ardern was photographed on Thursday taking a selfie with at least a dozen people in close proximity to her. She was clearly unconcerned about the prospect of Covid-19 transmission.

“Today at 1pm, the Government must ease restrictions on New Zealanders so the rest of us can get our way of life back.

“We’re in the sharpest recession in living memory, 220,000 Kiwis are on the unemployment benefit, and businesses are going under.

“We need to get smarter about Covid-19 and adapt to our new reality.

“Hospitality businesses are going broke at Alert Level 2 because of single server and social distancing rules. Meanwhile, the person responsible for the rules is breaking them.

“We’re glad Jacinda Ardern is finally taking a balanced approach to Covid-19. But it’s a pity she’s balancing it with her re-election campaign and not the needs of small businesses.

“ACT would take a genuinely balanced approach and consider all of the health and economic considerations through our Covid-19 Response Plan.

“If we want to enhance New Zealanders’ overall wellbeing, we must get a lot smarter. A Party Vote for ACT is a vote to tackle COVID-19 intelligently.”

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