In NZ there has been no community transmission of #COVID19 for 66 days & the last case associated with a cluster recovered 28 days ago. We have had 22 deaths in total. This is remarkable.

We now have sporting events with full stadiums. We have work, school, & unrestricted domestic travel. We are now less restricted than almost any nation on Earth. This is also remarkable.

Right now, seeing how the pandemic is unfolding in many parts of the world, it is hard to overstate how lucky we are.

To those who are saying, we can't stay closed off from the world forever, I would say, let's see how the science evolves on the vaccine front. Plan A should be keep #COVID19 out until there is a vaccine.

We can't wait forever but we can wait a while. The notion that things are returning to normal anywhere else in the world anytime soon is a fantasy.

Global progress in vaccine development has been extraordinary. Multiple phase 3 vaccine trials will be underway within a month or two. The speed of these trials depends on the amount of disease around. More disease equals faster answers.

There are, of course, no guarantees and, even under the best case scenario, a vaccine seems unlikely to be available in NZ until mid to late 2021 at the earliest. Nevertheless, seeing how the vaccine story develops is the sensible strategy given the situation NZ is in right now.