Should Auckland stay locked down?

The Herald reports:

A day before Auckland is due to come out of lockdown, experts are calling for a rethink on the city’s Covid-19 restrictions as new cases of the virus across the city show no sign of slowing down.

The Ministry of Health reported 13 new cases today including 11 in the community, the highest number for almost two weeks.

Auckland University Professor Shaun Hendy, whose modelling has guided the Government’s response to date, said ministers should reconsider moving Auckland to alert level 2 on Monday – and if the change still goes ahead, employers should keep workers at home if possible.

“If you can work at home, you should continue to do so for the next few weeks,” he said.

Otago University Professor Michael Baker said Auckland should stay at least at a heightened “level 2.5” with the planned limit of 10 on social gatherings and everyone wearing masks in all indoor spaces outside their own homes.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declined to comment today but is due to confirm alert levels at 1pm tomorrow.

One of the problems is we still don’t know how the outbreak happened. It is still a mystery how the family at the centre of this cluster got infected themselves.

This is absolutely right. The decisions are inherently political.