![]() One only has to consider the situation in other countries, with their high hospitalisations and deaths, for a reality check.” ![]() ![]() “If we are not careful, we will be at serious risk of allowing our health system to become overwhelmed, given it was already under strain and burdened even before the Covid-19 pandemic began. The Associate Dean (Pacific) at Otago University, immunologist Dr Dianne Sika-Paotonu said the consequences of any premature changes such as easing restrictions will be dire for the most vulnerable New Zealanders. ![]() Cases have also been recorded in emergency housing accommodation. Māori and Pasifika are at higher risk of suffering the adverse effects of the virus, and a significant proportion of cases in the current outbreak are within these two groups – 62.6% Pasifika 19.5% Māori. Just over 46% of the eligible population – 12 years and over – is fully vaccinated, and 76% has had at least one dose. She has said strict lockdowns will end once 90% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated. Step three will allow for hospitality to open – seated, separated and with a limit of 50 close contact businesses like hairdressers will also open with mask use and physical distancing gatherings will also then extend to 50.Īmid mounting pressure, Ardern said earlier her strategy was never to have zero cases, but to aggressively stamp out the virus. Public facilities such as pools and zoos can open and the number of people who can meet outdoors will increase to 25. The second step will allow retail to reopen, with requirements for face masks and physical distancing. Early childhood education will return for all and people can move around Auckland for recreation such as beach visits and hunting. People will be able to connect with people outdoors, with no more than two households at a time and up to a maximum of 10 people. There are 21 unlinked cases from the past fortnight, which epidemiologists fear could indicate undetected strains of transmission within the community.Īuckland, which has been in lockdown for seven weeks, will have its restrictions eased in three stages, Ardern said, with cabinet reviewing each step weekly to ensure it is safe to move.įrom midnight Tuesday, Auckland will remain in alert level 3 but several key changes will occur. Lockdown restrictions were extended to areas south of the country’s largest city at the weekend, following the emergence of new community cases in the Waikato region. A newborn baby in the maternity ward at North Shore hospital was one of the latest cases. Another 29 cases were reported on Monday, with all but one in Auckland, bringing total cases in the outbreak to 1,314. “Vaccines will mean that in the future we can do things differently … but even then, our strategy remains: that while cases will continue, we want to control the virus, stamp out cases, and prevent hospitalisations, but with vaccines we have more options on how we do that,” Ardern said.įifty new cases were reported over the weekend, including a truck driver who travelled to Palmerston North, about 500km from Auckland, while infectious. Ardern said the strategy had served New Zealand well, but there was always going to be point of transition away from it. It is the first time the government has announced a shift away from the ambitious elimination strategy, that has largely kept the country free of the virus.
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