AN EMAIL UPDATE FROM JOHN WHAANGA, DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL, MĀORI HEALTH DIRECTORATE:
September 8, 2021
E aku manu tāiko, e ako manu taupua, e aku manu pīrere, mā te hau pupuhi aku mihi e kawe atu rā ki a koutou katoa, tēnā rā koutou.
Today signals the first day of Alert Level 2 for all regions outside of Tāmaki Makaurau. As I said yesterday, this ability to shift comes from the hard mahi done by whānau and kaimahi over the past three weeks, especially those of you in Tāmaki Makaurau.
As you’ll see from today’s update on the latest outbreak, numbers are decreasing. As numbers continue to decrease, we can gain confidence there isn’t community transmission in Tāmaki Makaurau, or any leakages out of the region to other parts of the country; we’ll then be able to shift Alert Levels. Until then, it’s important we keep up the good work – please keep following your relevant Alert Level rules and continue to uphold our tikanga hauora. Most importantly, stay home if you’re sick and get tested, get vaccinated, and be kind to one another.
15 new community cases in Aotearoa
There are 15 new cases of COVID-19 in the community to announce today. All of these are in Tāmaki Makaurau.
This brings the total number of community cases in this outbreak to 855, with 838 in Tāmaki Makaurau and 17 in Pōneke. Please note, one of the previously recorded cases has been reclassified as a border case. Today’s total has therefore increased by 14 since yesterday.
Of these community cases, 218 are now deemed to have recovered, giving us an active total of 637.
Ongoing investigations by public health units have resulted in 830 cases being epidemiologically linked. That leaves just 25 cases yet to be linked. This work will continue, and the number of unlinked cases is expected to keep falling.
Currently, there are 37 cases in hospitals across the Tāmaki Makaurau hospital network. Of these, six are in an ICU or in a High Dependency Unit. My whakaaro continue to be with those in hospital and their whānau during this difficult time.
Update on the COVID-19 vaccination rollout
Our COVID-19 vaccination rollout continues at pace with more than 72, 893 vaccinations administered yesterday. Of these 49,594 were first doses and 23,299 were second doses.
This is a further increase from yesterday’s numbers, so, thank you to everyone who got vaccinated yesterday or helped with administering vaccinations. Ka rawe koutou katoa!
We’ve also reached another milestone in our rollout today in that over 4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered throughout the motu. Of these, over 2.66 million are first doses and more than 1.37 million are second doses. Thirty three percent of eligible New Zealanders are now fully vaccinated, and 63% have had their first dose.
For the Māori roll-out, more than 245,000 Māori have received their first dose and over 120,000 are fully vaccinated. That means 42.9% of our people have received one dose, and 21.2% have received two doses.
With one in five Māori fully vaccinated, we still have some way to go. Nā reira, please keep encouraging your friends and whānau to book in for their vaccinations ASAP, it’s safe and it’s free. They can do this online or by calling 0800 28 29 26.
Tangihanga guidelines for Alert Level 2
The updated guidance for tangihanga at Alert Level 2 is now live on the Ministry of Health website, you can read it here.
At Alert Level 2, tangihanga, nehunga, and hura kōhatu are permitted but there are limits on the number of people who can attend.
Up to 50 people can attend a tangihanga if it is held indoors and up to 100 people can attend a tangihanga if it is held outdoors. This doesn’t include staff, kaikaranga, kaikōrero, or any other kaimahi.
Physical distancing of two metres is required between household bubbles, and face coverings are mandatory for everyone, including kaimahi.
Organisers legally must record attendees to make sure contact tracing can happen if needed. If you are visiting a funeral home, you can scan in using the NZ COVID Tracer app or provide your details for contact tracing.
If a viewing is being held in a private dwelling, marae, church, community hall or mosque, there can be multiple viewings for groups of up to 50 people at any one time. Again, this limit excludes kaimahi.
Please keep safe and do not attend a tangihanga or any gathering if you are feeling māuiui. E noho ki te kāinga, stay home and call your doctor or Healthline on 0800 358 5453 for advice on getting a test.
Ka mutu, we recommend avoiding physical contact with others, such as harirū, hongi, kihi and awhi except if you live with them, are whānau, or are close friends.
Update on transiting through an Alert Level 4 region (Tāmaki Makaurau)
I wanted to provide an update on the kōrero I gave yesterday for travel between Alert Level regions. Under the current Order, whānau are permitted to travel through Alert Level 4 (Tāmaki Makaurau region), without stopping, for the following reasons:
Going to or returning from mahi
Going home
Relocating your home on a permanent basis
Going to an education entity that you ordinarily attend
Attending a tangihanga or wedding
Accompanying or collecting a tūpāpaku.
As this travel is already permitted, you do not need an exemption or approval but should carry some evidence of reason for travel.
Kia mōhio mai, travel from Alert Level 4 (Tāmaki Makaurau) to Alert Level 2 (regions outside Tāmaki Makaurau) to attend tangihanga is not permitted. Given the risk of transmitting COVID-19, the Director-General has decided that exemption applications for this type of travel will not be considered. I know this will be hard for many of our whānau in Tāmaki. Other options include postponing the tangihanga until a later date, or organising for a digital solution, such as a Facebook Live or Zoom call.
Ka mutu, travel from Alert Level 2 (regions outside Tāmaki Makaurau) to Alert Level 4 (Tāmaki Makaurauj) to attend tangihanga is not permitted. We would not expect to receive exemption applications for this type of travel, as tangihanga are not permitted at Alert Level 4, along with any other form of gathering.
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Please remind your friends and whānau to get information on COVID-19 and the vaccine from our trusted sources – the Ministry of Health, Unite Against COVID, and Karawhiua channels.
For guidance on protecting yourself and your whānau from COVID-19 misinformation and scams, visit the Unite Against COVID website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or my team at: maorihealth@health.govt.nz