More urgency needed to keep country Covid free

A leading health economist says the Government is again failing to convey the sense of urgency required to keep the country Covid-free. The comments follow news that an infectious person visited an Auckland pub last Friday, as well as an influx of new imported cases in isolation after 18 members of overseas fishing crews tested positive. The new cases have rattled the North Shore community of Greenhithe, where the pub is located. At the bakery a few doors down, Baked, Darryn Forbes and his team have opted to introduce Level 3 protocols as a precaution. He spoke to our producer Matthew Theunissen. A pop-up community testing centre was set up in Greenhithe yesterday, and was inundated with people wanting a swab. Nurse team leader Erin Blank told reporter Rowan Quinn people are nervous. But Dr Rhema Vaithianathan from AUT's Centre for Social Data Analytics believes the Government is not doing enough to convince people to stay Covid-safe. She spoke with Anna Thomas.