“If today’s probable case of Covid-19 in Northland turns out to be community transmission the Government’s overarching objective must be avoiding another lockdown,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“The best news would be that this is a false alarm, but if it’s not then a number of things have to happen very quickly to protect the community.

“First, mass testing will need to be rolled out. How soon can this be in place? Is the resource standing by to rapidly put in place the infrastructure for mass testing in the region?

“We know very few people in Northland have been getting tested, with Ministry of Health statistics show only 282 tests were carried out over the past week, down from 328 the week before.

“This will also be a huge test of whether tracking and tracing has improved since the system was last tested in August.

“Much will rest on where the source of this potential outbreak was in managed isolation. Did they travel to Northland from Auckland or further afield?

“Above all, the Government must be completely transparent about all aspects of this situation.

“New Zealanders deserve to be brought into their confidence.

“We hope the Government succeeds in containing any cases as soon as possible.”

© Scoop Media