Auckland will move to a more relaxed version of Level 3 at 11:59pm on Tuesday, in the first phase of a new 3-step plan to lift restrictions in the region.
Aucklanders will be able to meet with family and friends from one other household at a time, provided they gather outdoors and there are no more than 10 people present. Early childhood centres can also reopen and Aucklanders can move around for recreation like beach visits and to go hunting.
Cabinet will review these settings next Monday. If it's happy with where things are at, restrictions will be loosened further. If not, Cabinet will wait another week before reviewing settings again.
At this "Step 2" phase, retail stores will be able to open. Customers will need to wear masks and maintain physical distancing. Public facilities such as pools and zoos will open, and the number of people who can meet outdoors will increase to 25.
After a week at Step 2, Cabinet will review things again. If it's happy, Auckland will move to Step 3.
At Step 3, hospitality businesses will be allowed to open. Patrons will have to be seated and separated, and no more than 50 people will be allowed in a venue. Close contact businesses like hairdressers will also open with mask use and physical distancing, and the gathering size limit will extend to 50.
The Wage Subsidy will continue to be available at all three steps.
Settings will be reviewed every Monday. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern couldn't say how long Auckland is likely to remain at each step for.
The public health advice Cabinet has received suggests schools will be able to reopen after the school holidays on October 18, but a final decision on this will be made closer to the time.
Here's a summary of Auckland's 3-step plan:
Ardern said, “At the end of these steps, we will then move to a national framework that reflects a more highly vaccinated population, allowing us the ability to deal with riskier settings such as large-scale events with the use of vaccine certificates."
More people able to attend bars and restaurants at Level 2
The rest of New Zealand will remain at Level 2, however the 100-person limit for hospitality venues will be removed. The requirement for customers to be seated and separated with physical distancing remains in place.
Hamilton City, Raglan, Te Kauwhata, Huntly and Ngāruawāhia will remain at the regular Level 3, as was outlined on Sunday, until 11:59pm on Friday.
More support for struggling households considered
Ardern indicated the Government is considering providing households with more financial support.
Asked by interest.co.nz whether she was considering providing more support for "vulnerable households" or "people who may have had their hours cut", Ardern said yes.
She said she would have more to say on this "shortly... when final decisions have been made".
Ardern indicated the Government wasn't considering providing businesses with additional support beyond the Wage Subsidy and Resurgence Support Payment, which both continue to be available.
NZ 'transitions' away from the elimination strategy
Ardern said, “Vaccines were always going to change the way we manage Covid-19 into the future, but our strategy has worked and will remain – we want to control the virus, avoid cases and hospitalisations, enjoy our freedoms, and reconnect with the world."
The plan suggests New Zealand is no longer pursuing an elimination strategy. Ardern referred to it in the past tense, saying it was the right strategy while most people were unvaccinated. She said we are now in a "transition" phase.
She said Auckland's heavy lockdown wasn't wasted, as it gave people time to get vaccinated.
84% of Aucklanders over the age of 12 have had one dose of the vaccine. 52% of Aucklanders are fully vaccinated.
Here are the latest nationwide vaccine numbers from the Ministry of Health:
198 Comments
As much criticism as I have, she is really just doing the best she can. Covid is here to stay and she understands that we need to live with it so she is relaxing the restrictions to ease us into living with Covid. I think she is going down the right path. We cannot be locked up forever. I know my mental health is taking a toll in Auckland and I know I’m not the only one.
They are also buying lots of these: https://babylonbee.com/news/car-manufacturers-now-recommend-wearing-a-s…
What about how lone drivers wear masks in their car: https://youtu.be/6gnwgZli1_Y
Best practice is put mask on when leaving the house and don't touch it again until you get home and carefully remove followed by hand hygiene. Taking it on and off continuously contaminates hands with bugs that spread to surroundings. Hence driving with it on and no passengers. Infection control proceedure is annoying but effective.
I'm grateful to be able to see some family OUTSIDE, however I still think it's a rather lame decision.
I think I would have respected her more if she just kept us at level 3.
It's a political decision. Which I guess is understandable given she's a politician.
But it's really a bit lame.
Commonly, politicians of all persuasions end up being caught between a rock and a hard place.
Let's give Jacinda her dues: she's governed honourably, having always avoided acting in personal self-interest. She's a brilliant communicator and done what she genuinely thinks is best for the country. But she's now past the crest of her popularity.
If National can sort out its woeful leadership problems it may well be back in a couple of years, probably in coalition with ACT.
TTP
That’s the point. Whatever the government does now is somewhat academic. Whether the government likes to admit it or not, Delta is moving through society almost certainly less detected than undetected and government measures are wearing out, people are naturally moving beyond them. The real onus is now not on the government, but on New Zealanders and their uptake of vaccination. In truth the announcement today is the virtual confirmation of the reality of that shift in responsibility.
"People will be able to connect with loved ones outdoors with no more than two households at a time, up to a maximum of 10 people; early childhood education will return for all; and people can move around Auckland for recreation such as beach visits and hunting."
Excellent, unvaccinated children can go to daycare and mix with other unvaccinated children, but they can't see their grandparents unless they're OUTSIDE.
I'm questioning what we will do with our pre-schooler however the evidence from studies out of NSW where they did keep centres open throughout their outbreaks have shown that for delta, person to person transmission within ECE was 6.4%, it was low between children but higher (16.9%) between ECE staff members. When it did leave the ECE setting, transmission to household contacts showed 70.7% became infected.
https://www.ncirs.org.au/sites/default/files/2021-09/NCIRS%20NSW%20Scho…
Best we can hope for is 100% vaccination rates for teachers at ECE or having unvaccinated teachers not working with children while there is significant infection risk in the community.
Hope this antiviral is half as encouraging as it sounds. Cheaper than ICU beds. Merck and Ridgeback’s Investigational Oral Antiviral Molnupiravir Reduced the Risk of Hospitalization or Death by Approximately 50 Percent Compared to Placebo for Patients with Mild or Moderate COVID-19 in Positive Interim Analysis of Phase 3 Study - Merck.com
How about the already vaxed who are still at risk? We have a bunch from group 2 starting to get into the tail end of their vax immunity. They can be dosed in the rest home. Stop worrying about the young healthy unvaxed.
I think this rather underwhelming compared to India's Ivermectin success though.
It's an Early Use Authorisation. Whilst not peer reviewed, the FDA get the individual patient data to assist with their Advisory Committee. This often has information well over and above what may be published. Once the Committee makes their recommendation the data is freely available (or prior?).
Tim there are already a whole heap of variations for cattle, sheep and deer. Abamectins, Moxidectin, Eprinomectin, Doramectin etc. Longer lasting and better for parasites. Farmers have long since moved on from the human used Ivomectin. Some are better as injectables, others better as pour ons. I am quite sure it wont take long for any Pharmaceutical company to produce a slightly different chemical so they can patent and charge a fortune. The trialwork will be the slow down.
Cattle wormers are pretty cheap. You might pay $6 for a pretty big animal to worm it for 4 to 6 weeks. I see Merck are pricing theirs $700 US
Molnupiravir is a tiny molecule compared to ivermectin. It's been too long since my high school chemistry but the active parts look different as well.
It can't be used as a prophylactic at $700 which I guess is why the effectiveness is only 50%. It does not look to hard to make too, small and only organic stuff (any chemist here?). No wonder they disowned Ivermec.
At least it might get doctors asking if they can treat even earlier?
"and people can move around Auckland for recreation such as beach visits"
Which is what many have been doing anyway for the last couple of weeks!
To say I'm a little fed up with this absurd tippy-toe approach would be a vast understatement.
Let's get going for goodness sake.
Just endless buying of time to compensate for late vaccination delivery and now slow uptake.
It just simply reeks of appalling failure.
Every announcement is like ground hog day - what is there to suggest in a weeks’ time things will look much different – except a number more having had their 2nd jab.
Man I really feel for those business owners in Auckland right now. This doesn't seem to offer much hope or clear pathway forward.
Time for HRH My Little Pony to come down hard with a date, like Australia and stop pussy footing around the non compliant. As many posters on here have been calling for.
If only there was a viable opposition.
Close, but 2.71828182.... is Euler's number, which is irrational, so I think that may have been the actual number used.
https://www.scienceabc.com/pure-sciences/what-is-eulers-number.html
Globally speaking its nothing.
At some point we are going to have to meet reality. There is no vaccine that stops us all 100% from serious cv19 illness. It's just going to stop (largely) the worse effects. But we cant save everyone, many people will choose not to get vaccinated and the virus is not going away.
Time to accept that this is a global pandemic and some people are going to die.
But more people die in road accidents and drownings. Does the government ban swimming? Driving cars?
Time for balance in this conversation.
And time to focus on a govt that has had over a year to plan, but still cannot scrape anything more together than a 1 page powerpoint slide
Yes, indeed! But what do you do if you are a hospital researcher or administrator and know that with every new death certficate showing Covid as cause of death you get further funding for research? It is bit like asking kids how much they like a treat as you stand in front of a cupboard full sweets and chocolate, lol.
Suggest you look at excess deaths. Deaths of/with COVID are an underestimate. And before you blame lockdowns - take a looks at NZ's excess deaths for least year - they're negative. And death certificates are pretty rigorous in this regard - suggest you read up on that too. For example, if I get cancer it is not actually the cancer that usually kills me, so I die "with" cancer but it's pretty clearly "from" cancer.
I had an interesting conversation with one of my co-workers at the office today. He’s from UK and most of his family still there. Apparently, two of them work in hospitals and last year the UK government instigated incentives for Covid research funding in Hospitals. Great you say… but wait, while this is anecdotal, it makes perfect sense for hospitals to have covid on death certificates as it helps to increase funding! Unintended consequences, much? Result being that Covid deaths are overstated in many countries. I know, completely unacceptable to the ‘government-follow-the-science’ crowd… but this perhaps also helps in part to put some of the decisions in European countries into a new light.
And obviously, I was not referring to the bloody UK. Where in my post does it say UK. If I was referring to the UK I would clearly state "in the UK there are more..."
And just to be clear jimbo yes in nz we've had hundreds of people die in road accidents since lock Downs started. But that's just a normal part of life you are desensitised towards.
And no where have I suggested unrestricted borris Johnson chaos.
Again. Time for Some balance in the discussion.
As this is a public health issue, the front person should be the Minister or Director General of Health. Jacinda has used this to grab the limelight but as dissatisfaction grows with the countries approach the PM will increasingly refer to "MOH advice" to distance herself from the debacle.
Finally, Arden admits that their proclaimed objective of "elimination" was a ruse. I do not disagree with her that the government response (i.e. hard lockdown) would have been any different if their stated objective was called "containment" or something similar (given the very poor vaccination rate in NZ), but i really dislike her use of deceiving language to sugar coat a hard choice.
I also think framing their response in the "elimination" frame of reference has resulted in a false sense of security for some vaccine hesitant people. What is the need for it if they will never going to catch it?
I think you cannot force people to get the vaccine, but at the same time I think there is a strong argument for being a little brave and say: if you want hospital care for COVID, get the vaccine (unless your doctor says it is not safe for you), we even pay for your doctor consultation and assocaited tests they may want to perform. But if you refuse to take the vaccine, offered for free, please do not turn to our hospitals asking for care if you get it. At end of the day, you did not trust us with our vaccine, saying we had a hidden agenda to deceive you and to force you take something that is harmful for you. How would you be OK to turn up to the same people, asking for stuff the same dodgy big pharma produce to be put into your body?
Did the overweight, people in accidents etc, also refused a vaccine for being overweight and car accidents? if yes, they should also be excluded from accessing public health. This is like refusing chemo for cancer. Sure it is your choice, I do not want to force anyone to chose that, but you cannot expect to be treated if you refuse the treatment. Vaccine is part of the Covid treatment. How can you not be accepting the first part of treatment (because you do not trust in the medical products behind it) yet you trust the other treatment? people refusing vaccines are refusing healthcare, it is not the healthcare who refuses them. Much like people who believe curing an illness is only possible by will of god who refuse medical intervention.
A simple question: Will you personally sign a contract that guarantees me future income replacement from your pocket if I get permanently sick from consequences of taking the injection? No? How about from the government collected taxes you pay…? Still so keen to force a medical procedure with an ‘emergency approved only’ type medical treatment? Great, I take it after you signed the contract and let me have some security over your assets to ensure I get what I need in case it is required. Happy now?
Who is forcing you? it is your right to refuse the vaccine as I have clearly stated. But why do you want to go to the same crew (who are recommending you to vaccine btw) for any COVID related remedy? You obviously do not trust the doctors on this, and that is fine. Just do not trust them on a consistent basis on this issue. In that case, you do not want to go to see them (as you do not trust them, as how can they know about such a novel virus, with so little knowledge, and so many potential unknown consequences?). If you are happy to refuse the vaccine (as is your right) why are you unhappy to extend that (on a logical basis) to other COVID medical procedures? who knows for sure what are the impact of ICU procedures on COVID? does putting you under oxygen has any long term debilating effects?
The cabinet meeting wasn't about any health data, vaccine rates. They spent 1 hour brainstorming 'how can we make it look like we have as much progress without making any progress??'
ADD MORE STEPS! YES brilliant!
looks we have a plan! see our NEW STEPS!
Just like the old steps, we cant actually confirm any dates, have no real targets, and will forget these steps in a months time, but look!
WE HAVE A ROADMAP!
So much kneejerk negativity and partisan sniping from the usual suspects. What about waiting to see if this new approach works or not, or is this too hard for some people? The government is in possession of far more information and professional expertise than any of these commentators, and they deserve a chance to try these new initiatives to see if they work before being instantly damned by know it alls. Get a grip.
True, but this does not change the fact that he breached the law, and that he is a scammer and an intolerant and hypocritical piece of smouldering human refuse who preys on the gullible and ignorant for his own personal financial gain.
A petition to finally charge this self-serving conman has already reached almost 100,000 subscribers https://www.change.org/p/nz-police-commissioner-charge-brian-tamaki-ove…. Every single hour, several thousands more subscribers have been added to this petition.
"Ardern said Auckland's heavy lockdown wasn't wasted, as it gave people time to get vaccinated."
So we always had the vaccine in the bag but people just did not show up, and the lockdown gave us time to be free from work shackles to go out and get the jab >>> yeah right. Plenty of over 70's were turned away at vaccination clinics.
This will never work.
We have to embrace Covid is here and there will be a growing number of cases. This one step forward and stopping the next if it looks scary is TOTAL BULLSHIT.
Totally calculated political decision nothing to do with reality.
All these rules will be abused because they are stupid, child like, we just have to bite the bullet.
I never thought I would say this but it makes me very uncertain that this is the country I want to stay in !
Lockdowns in this round have been about delta suppression to buy time. Time to up vaccination rates. High vaccination rates are required to spare a health system meltdown. You can debate the numbers but we all have worked out the basic principles. So the big game in town over the next couple of weeks is vaccinating the last reluctant 20% so the majority can enjoy some low consequence freedoms.
So where is the leadership and legislation that will take us from 80% up to our target? Not a mention outside please vaccinate. Be it restricting access to high risk environments (mass gatherings, and indoor venues) or travel, or handing out food vouchers, cash and so forth give us something. Again we can debate the ethics of our choices and opinion will be divided, but JA isn't acknowledging that please just won't cut it.
Slow vaccine roll out is on this Government. Will the lack of intensity and innovation around achieving adequate vaccination uptake be their C19 legacy too?
Are you sarcastic?
I am not here to dominate any thread. What I am seriously passionate about is the basic human rights we have. Over the last few weeks I had so many people in the construction industry telling me they can’t afford to lose their jobs but really don’t want to get the vaccine because they honestly don’t believe it is safe enough. Simply regular people like you and me, who are not what you think of as anti-vaxxers and ‘nut jobs’. It is really sad that it is only because I have no mortgage, no obligation to anyone that I can afford to speak up and also walk away from my very well paid job if and when I have to. That’s it, very simple.
Not so simple.
The minute you give an incentive, then people will hold out for a bigger incentive.
Make it mandatory/ban the unvaxxed from everything. Be interesting to see how that works. 1 in 5 people aren't vaccinated, and no kids are. Expect some interesting legal wranglings about that one. Baring in mind the original L4 lockdown last year was found not to be legal.
You either have human rights or you don’t. Same as being pregnant I am afraid. I for one would love if the medical staff (and everyone else too) were given a choice! And more money without any conditions to avoid perverse outcomes like covid death certificates becoming new found money fountains like in UK and US. And funnily enough, those two countries seemed to have the worst and longest Covid waves?
Well done to all Labour voters at the last election. You voted them in with a majority.
Don't back away, defend your leader and define this plan.
A plan that was written up on the back of an envelope.
We thought alert levels were confusing. They have taken it up a few notches.
The "plan" if it can even be called that, is contradictory. Apparently its Ok to have a picnic with just ONE other household, yet you can do crossfit or yoga with anyone. Without wearing a mask because it's exercise (despite science saying that more likely to spread when doing exercise). Absolute bulls**t.
Curiously, I haven’t noted reports for the wastewater recently.
If the situation is worse than described why does it not show up in wastewater tests?
I propose our people are used to hospital outpatients and turn up the moment something is amiss, even quicker than they….ummm..
Another possibility overlooked by our modellers of course..
Singapore breakdown shows 98.1% fully vaccinated people were asymptomatic or with mild symptoms. 1.8% had severe symptoms or needed intensive care, none of them were teenagers or young kids. 0.1% passed alway, mainly old people. Get jabs, look after the old. We will go through this pandemic in one piece.
Now that Akl are creeping forward there is going to come a time in the next 1-3 months that a triage system is going to be needed at the hospitals. eg 70+ no vaccine, no ICU, tent accommodation, maybe a ventilator if spare. 40-50 obese, not fully vaccinated, tent for you and so on. I'm sure our look ahead Ministry of Health have already have already come up with something and will communicate this to the relevant ministers in time. Can't tell the ministers too soon otherwise they are likely to become apopletic at such a thought.
Its another Adern can kick. Businesses cannot make decisions on no information, unlike politicians. If we'd cut politician and civil servants incomes by the same amount as small businesses (as they promised they would in lockdown one, then welched), this would've be dealt with in a week.
Gap between jabs leeps changing . 8- 12 weeks is optimal
Dr Baker recommended 6
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/10/covid-19-kiwis-can-move…
At what point can a legal challenge be mounted to the governments incompetency resulting in LOSS OF LIVELIHOODS due to the delays, obfuscation, lack of planning, failure to beef up icu and healthcare for 18 MONTHS??
This has seriously gone on too long. HRH must take us for fools. Oh yes that's right those that voted her in felt a career in fish and chips was adequate for PM training.
Apparently resting on her laurels after last year's record run absolved her of actually taking meaningful action to sort things out.
The number one thing they should've done is NOT put miq in our biggest city. They could've put it in Waiouru and put the army in charge. They've got an airstrip.
The need is for firm dates now on any plan. There is now enough people vaccinated for dates on a plan going forward. There is no miracle cure we are still waiting for so we may as well start coming out of lockdowns right now. By the 1st November we may as well be as back to as "normal" as it going to get.
Labour Parties Road Map Picnic PlayList
- Hit The Road Jack – Ray Charles
- Middle Of The Road – The Pretenders
- End Of The Road – Boyz II Men
- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John
- King Of The Road – Roger Miller
- Down The Road – C2C
- All Over The Road – Easton Corbin
- Long Road to Ruin – Foo Fighters
- Road Trippin’ – Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Everyday Is A Winding Road – Sheryl Crow
- Road To Hell – Chris Rea
- Road To Nowhere – Talking Heads
- On The Road Again – Willie Nelson
- Roadhouse Blues – The Doors
- The Long And Winding Road – The Beatles
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