Minister Henare did not make these decisions lightly. This is the first time in history that a state of national emergency covering the whole of New Zealand has been declared, as we needed to act to combat the virus and to break the chain of infection across the entire country. It is only the second time in New Zealand's history that a state of national emergency has been declared at all, with the first being specifically for Christchurch City on 23 February 2011 in response to the February Christchurch earthquake. The Minister took the step to further extend the state of national emergency because of the unprecedented nature of this global pandemic and because the response required to combat COVID-19 is of such a magnitude and severity that it is beyond the capacity of local civil defence emergency management groups to respond to it on their own.