I recently read an article written by a journalist who holidayed in Australia. Exciting news during these Covid times! The writer compared differences in facemask wearing and Covid-19 restrictions between Australia and New Zealand.

In Australia, the writer says, they were only wearing facemasks if they were Covid-positive or a household contact. This also indicated that there were no isolation requirements if you had Covid-19.

My first wild thought was, “How wonderful to have that level of freedom. We should have facemask freedom in New Zealand!” And then my second sensible thought kicked in, “Why are we still wearing facemasks in New Zealand? What are the different circumstances between Australia and New Zealand?”

It wasn’t only the facemask wearing that the writer commented on. He also commented on the societal attitude that “Omicron has changed things: infection is inevitable. So why delay the inevitable?” I agree that infection is inevitable and I am okay with that. But my reponse to why delay the inevitable is “because our hospitals and other facilities are having difficulties now and certainly won’t cope if more people catch Covid-19 at the same time.”

The infection rates in schools prove the theory that multiple people gathering in a relatively confined space for extended periods increases infection levels. Strains on our facilities with so many people infected simultaneously are grinding down the people we rely so heavily upon.

The writer commented that the NZ Covid restrictions are “so sweeping, for a disease that is so individual. My risk is very different to someone in their 80s who has emphysema. Sure, that person should continue precautions – but should they be imposed on all of us?”

I think those points are the very crux of our current restrictions. We should no longer think about wearing facemasks to protect ourselves (although they will if we do it properly) but that we should wear them to protect others. Covid-19 affects all of our communities and we should be combatting it with a full community response. While we, as individuals, react the most to the Covid-19 impact on ourselves, our actual responses should be for the sake of everyone.

Covid-responding for others is important in New Zealand when we can be asymptomatic or have symptoms that don’t trigger a positive RAT. New Zealand doesn’t fit the same Covid-19 profile as other countries because our vaccination rates were different when Covid-19 finally established itself on our shores. Furthermore, we don’t fully know what will happen with reinfection rates or subvariant infections. However, we do know how to wear facemasks!

The writer of the original article referred to New Zealand as a hermit kingdom for its Covid-19 response and I can understand why. However, I would remind everyone that New Zealand is tailing the rest of the Covid-world by at least two to three months. Remember the joyous days of the America’s Cup regatta where we had greater freedoms than any of the competing nations? No country is on the exact same timeline as any other when it comes to Covid-19 and if NZ is in a hermit kingdom phase, then so be it.

It pays to look back on our journey to reflect not only on bad decisions but also the good. Therefore I will remind you of our key message when we started our Covid-journey: practise faith not fear.

It is hard to navigate the unknown but as we continue to better understand how to slow the spread of Covid-19, we need to do all we can to keep our churches, families, friends and local communities safe.

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Keep wearing your facemasks. Just like the vaccine passes, it won’t be forever.