As a year draws to a close it is interesting how the ‘Plan B’ and ‘we should be more like Sweden’ have been quiet we have been enjoying the hard won freedom of eliminating community transmission of COVID-19 which enables us to enjoy the holidays. I always find it funny how the ‘our plan could have done it better’ never eat that much needed humble pie and I don’t expect them to do that any time soon because it appears that those who are given a platform a quick to make claims but very slow (if at all) to show up and admit they got it wrong.. I look over in Europe at what is unfolding – Sweden which has a population twice the size of New Zealand, has had 7993 total deaths which translates to 3997 based on population when compared to New Zealand’s actual total being 22. For those who say, “but your population is 5 million spread out” – incorrect, 60% of New Zealanders reside in 4 cities, 90% reside in 8 cities – in other words, we’re hardly ‘spread out’ and instead very much an urban population.

The ‘Plan B’ types also said it would destroy our economy – well, we had two quarters of contraction (Q1 -1.6%, Q2 -12.2%) followed by a massive rebound (+14.0%) so I’m sitting here wondering once again whether we’re going to hear the doomsayers and ‘Plan B’ types come out and eat a good helping of humble pie especially when one considers what is happening in the UK with the new strain and a second wave going across Europe, the outbreak in NSW (Australia) and continuing disaster that is occurring in the United States. Disaster unfolds and the very people who have been spreading false information disappear the moment that they’re meant to face the music. I hope that this is a warning in to the public in future to remember those who reported news (RNZ) and those who were more interested in pushing a narrative (NZME, Newshub etc).

I know it all sounds kind of negative but it is rather frustrating when those who are given platforms and as a rest result of that platform the ability to sway public opinion on a given matter, I think it is important that those who do spread false information are held accountable even if it is purely in the ‘court of public opinion’.