Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): New Zealand has been effectively dealing with COVID-19 as a pandemic for some time. We've been working from our comprehensive and longstanding pandemic plan since January and have taken early and decisive action to protect New Zealanders. As the Director-General of the World Health Organization said this morning, "Describing the situation as a pandemic … doesn't change what countries should do." What it does do, however, is send the strongest possible message to people the world over to take the threat from COVID-19 incredibly seriously and act accordingly. I ask all New Zealanders to play their part in this response.