Central Otago District Mayor Tim Cadogan has issued a stern warning for people to remember the threat of COVID-19, as the pandemic rages and grows worse outside the border of New Zealand. 

Mayor Tim took to social media to extend his warning, which follows on the back of the Government’s warning the pandemic is growing worse and Kiwis are growing complacent at home.

“I know I have gone on about this before, but we are walking a tightrope with Covid at the moment and people just don’t seem to care.

“Can you please think about and discuss with your family and friends two news items from today?

“Firstly, Britain announced today that it has had more people die in its second wave than in its first. 

“On Wednesday this week in Britain, 1,564 people died of Covid. Britain has around 70m people, we have around 5m. 

“My rough maths tells me that this means, if what’s happening in Britain happens here, we would be losing around 115 kiwi’s every day. 

“And the British death toll isn’t expected to peak until February.”

Central Otago District Mayor Tim Cadogan has warned the pandemic raging outside our border is a high risk, and we have to continue using the COVID Tracer App and keeping good hygiene practices at all times. Source: www.worldometers.info

Mayor Tim echoed Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield’s comments this week, that Kiwis are not using the COVID Tracer App regularly.

“Secondly; usage of the Covid tracing app has halved in New Zealand between November and now; and is a fifth of what it was at its peak.

“The new variants that are popping up in Britain, South Africa and now it seems Brazil are far more contagious than the original virus and far more terrifying. 

“We have to be fools to think that there is not a high risk that one of these variants will escape our quarantine facilities.

“When, not if, that happens, how many people die and how long and hard the lockdown in Central Otago will be is going to be dictated in huge part by how quickly authorities can trace and isolate contacts of sick people.

“And that will be largely done through the Covid app. That most people aren’t using.

“This complacency to me is akin to knowing most of your neighbour’s houses have been burgled but not locking your door because you don’t think it will happen to you.

“As Siouxsie Wiles said in The Spinoff today, “The more complacent we are, the more sorry we will be”. Please; to keep our people from harm and our economy from suffering the damage of another prolonged lock-down, use the app (as well as the other measures we know so well like washing hands, staying home if sick etc).”

You can download the COVID Tracer App by clicking here. 

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