Covid Rant
I haven’t posted about the covid situation in New Zealand for a few weeks because it is impossible to digest all of the different bits of what’s happening. Right now 90% of the eligible population has had one dose of the Pfizer covid vaccine (76% of the total population) and 80% is fully vaccinated (67% of the total population). The number of cases is clearly on the rise, and they have spread beyond Auckland to the Waikato, Northland, and Taranaki in addition to a small pocket (that seems to be contained) in Christchurch. A covid certificate program is supposed to start sometime in the next few weeks to prepare for greater opportunities for fully vaccinated people.
In Auckland, we are currently in level 3.2, which means retail is open with masks and social distancing. Hospitality is not open for anything more than takeaway. Groups of up to 25 can gather outside with social distancing and masks recommended. all three district health boards (DHBs) have at least 90% of their population with one vaccine does. As soon as all three reach 90% with two doses or November 29, whichever comes first, we’ll move from Level 3.2 to the traffic light system. Schools can open up next Wednesday on the 17th.
These are the details and facts, which will probably change by the time this post goes live. I’ve got a lot of mixed emotions about how things are changing in New Zealand and how the government is responding to these changes. The constantly shifting messages, half thought out plans, and confusing inconsistencies are making it harder and harder to be on board with how covid is being handled in New Zealand.
First, the increase in cases has already stretched our contact tracing resources thin. The government has stopped reporting visits to locations like grocery stores, despite claims that people are getting covid in the grocery store . They’ve also stopped following up on casual+ and casual contacts. I can only imagine they were getting a lot of pressure to stop reporting all of the locations because there would inevitably be a drop off in business when a place was listed as a location of interest. This may be the most infuriating change for me. At least give us the information and let the public decide where they feel comfortable going. This stinks like T****’s comment about stopping testing so there won’t be as many covid cases. It seems like these highly visited locations should be the most important places to list as so many people visit the grocery store. And as you can see from this vlog, social distancing is a rare thing in supermarkets - and it is only getting worse with time.
Secondly, there is no longer room in the MIQ facilities for all of the community cases, yet overseas travellers must quarantine despite negative tests and vaccines. The MIQ time is now 7 days as opposed to 14 to try to free up space, but there are more community cases (by several orders of magnitude) than MIQ cases. There is a growing call to end the MIQ system for overseas travellers, but a resistance to do so. I’m on the “what’s the point of MIQ anymore?” side of this debate, especially for people who plan to remain in Auckland. I could understand keeping MIQ for individuals who plan on moving on - for a little bit longer until covid is good and truly out in the rest of the country - but for people who want to stay where there are already cases, hundreds of which are unlinked? That is frustrating and makes little sense.
Third, the move to open up schools with only a few weeks left in the year with next to no guidance is ridiculous. And I know that is an unpopular opinion for many people. For the younger years, kids can go back part time under a scheme that each school can figure out for themselves. Kids year 4 and up will need to wear masks, but other than those two guidelines, there is nothing for the schools to go off of. My daughter’s school decided that for three weeks of class, it wasn’t worth the brain damage, disruption, and risk. She’s staying home. My son’s school, however, is opening up. Different years will go to school on different days. So year 3 kids will go on the 17th ,19th, 22nd, and 24th. There are then two more weeks of school, and I’m assuming that means 4 or 5 more days of in-person learning, but the schedules aren’t out yet. His class, when in school together, won’t be in smaller groups. There won’t be any social distancing within the class or mask wearing. They aren’t going to be doing much in the way of school work, but will focus on “reconnecting with each other.” We also don’t know the vaccination status of the other adults in the students’ homes and I know of at least one parent who said she didn’t plan on getting the vaccine. Needless to say, with this (IMO) absolutely inadequate safety plan, my son is going to be staying home for the remainder of the year. We’re lucky that he’s the type that is thriving in a homeschool environment and enjoys working through things at his own pace. My hope is that the kids’ vaccines will be available by February, but at the very least, he’ll be in year 4 next year with a mask mandate.
On the flip side, I realize that even now, three months into a lockdown, New Zealand has had it so much better than much of the world. As we come out of this lockdown - no matter how bumpy this process is - we’re still starting our covid-in-the-community life with a huge vaccine advantage that will keep our cases and deaths lower than many other countries. People are getting sick and dying, even people who are vaccinated, but overall it will be a lot less impactful because of the steps we took in 2020 and 2021. We got about eighteen incredible months of normalcy from our hard work, and that is something we should be proud of.
