The first three days of Alert Level 3 has shown a small return towards normality.

Across our suite of measures, Alert Level 3 has taken us 5%-15% back towards pre-Covid levels, but are still at very low levels.

For example, our traffic index has improved by 4%pts (from 27% of normal to 31%) and broadband use has fallen by 6%pt (from 117% of normal to 111%).

The full dashboard is here.

The government announced a much needed new SME lending package (Under 50 employees, that also received the wage subsidy to a cap of $100,000). By our workings, this will be helpful for businesses with fewer than 10 staff. But for larger firms, borrowing will still be challenging, and the Business Finance Guarantee Scheme will need further changes.