Rosalie's Writings with Rosalie Liddle Crawford

Last weekend I went to PAK'n SAVE Thames on the way up to Coromandel. It was the fourth time I'd been to a supermarket since the March lockdown.

I watched for a couple of minutes as over 50 people streamed in through the sliding door passing the very clearly displayed COVID-19 poster with its QR code without pausing to scan their phone over it, and I wondered why people are indifferent.

Did they have high levels of trust in border control measures? Or just follow along with the majority like sheep?

I asked a couple of people - 'well there's no community cases are there” - an interesting viewpoint as tracking oneself with the COVID-19 app is intended to help be a preventative for community transmission, and its success relies on people tracking ahead of any community cases, not after the fact. We don't just wait for an outbreak and then start scanning QR codes, as a person with COVID-19 may not show any symptoms for a few days, but they could be contagious during that time. We have a case now who may have been in the community for ten days already before testing positive.

Others I asked were 'I feel like it's big brother” or the rather complacent 'We're all good here. We've been fine here in New Zealand for ages, they're stopping it before it can get into the community”.

Dr Dougal Sutherland, Clinical Psychologist, Victoria University of Wellington and Umbrella Health said it well: 'This positive test should serve to shake us out of our holiday smugness and remind us that COVID is still rampant and even more virulent than before. We can only hope that the fast and thoughtful actions of the woman who tested positive will protect us all. It only takes one instance for this virus to get out into our community, but it can also be the thoughtful actions of one person that saves us from a far greater fate."

All the modelling suggests that time-to-isolation is the strongest factor in keeping an outbreak under control.

Dr Andrew Chen, Research Fellow, Koi Tū – Centre for Informed Futures, University of Auckland has also commented: 'The case did the right thing - they scanned their QR codes and they had Bluetooth Tracing on. This means that MOH can identify locations of interest quickly, and potentially alert other people who have been exposed quickly too. But for all of us to benefit from the use of this technology, we need as many people participating as possible. You can't be alerted via digital means if you aren't participating, and while manual contact tracing is still good and will probably get to you, it may be slower. Speed is of the essence in combatting this disease.”

As a team of 5 million here in New Zealand, we cannot control the weather, but we can control COVID-19.

There are four simple things we can each do to keep each other safe:

1. Scan QR codes with the NZ COVID Tracer app. This takes seconds out of your day. It's very easy.

2. Turn on Bluetooth tracing.

Bluetooth tracing allows you to receive an alert if you've been near another app user who tests positive for COVID-19. And your privacy is always protected — it cannot share your location, your name or anything else about you.

3. Stay home if you're sick.

4. Wash your hands.

Wash often. Use soap. 20 seconds. Then dry. This kills the virus by bursting its protective bubble.

My main career was in medical science specialising in medical microbiology and immunohaematology - dealing with things like HIV, the immune system, hepatitis, disinfection, viruses, so I'm not blowing hot air. I wish people would just simply do their part, follow the four simple steps above and help keep us all safe. It's not hard. We are all so incredibly fortunate that the Northland woman who has tested positive has been so scrupulous in using the COVID Tracer app and Bluetooth.

Let's promote a scanner culture.

January 30 2021. Rosalie Liddle Crawford, NZCS (Paramedical), Spec.Immunohaematology, Cert. Medical Microbiology, ATCL (Teaching), PGDip. Management Studies.