Monthly Archives: September 2021

1 NEWS published this video item, entitled LIVE: Covid-19 alert level update with Jacinda Ardern, Ashley Bloomfield below is their description.

Live from 4pm: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is addressing New Zealand with the latest on NZs Covid-19 alert level.

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LIVE: Covid-19 alert level update with Jacinda Ardern, Ashley Bloomfield - The Global Herald - The Global Herald

According to New Zealand health officials, a woman died after she was administered the Pfizer-BioNTechcoronavirus vaccine.

The country's health ministry said an independent COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring board had concluded that the womans death was due to myocarditis which is a rare side effect of the Pfizer vaccine.

The health ministry said: "This is the first case in New Zealand where a death in the days following vaccination has been linked to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine."

Watch:

The age of the woman wasn't released by the health ministry.

The health ministry however added that the cause of death has not yet been determined while asserting that, "the benefits of vaccination with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine continue to greatly outweigh the risk of both COVID-19 infection and vaccine side effects, including myocarditis."

The board however added that there were other medical issues occurring at the same time that may have influenced the outcome after the woman took the vaccine.

Pfizer is the only vaccine which has been approved by health officials for public rollout in the country. The authorities have given provisional approval to Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines.

New Zealand has been battling the virus with the Delta variant spreadingrapidly in the country. On Monday the country reported 53 new coronavirus cases taking the total number of cases in the current outbreak to 562.

The government had announced a nationwide lockdown earlier this month after a virus case was detected in Auckland which has emerged as the epicentre of the virus.

On Sunday the country had reported 83 locally transmitted cases as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern indicated that tougher measures would be announced on Monday.

(With inputs from Agencies)

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New Zealand reports first death linked to Pfizer vaccine - WION

Public health experts and COVID-19 modelers are urging the New Zealand government to tighten its lockdown settings to avoid losing hard-won gains in the fight against the Delta variant.

On Wednesday, health officials reported 75 cases in New Zealand, up from 49 on Tuesday and 53 on Monday, but still below a peak of 83 on Sunday.

Prior to announcing the figure, Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield predicted that cases would continue to fall but some "bouncing around" would be likely, as occurred during New Zealand's last outbreak.

Of the new cases, 74 are from Auckland and one, likely to be a historical case, is from Wellington.

The new cases take the overall outbreak to 687.

Hospitalisations remain stead at 32, with eight in intensive care units and three requiring ventilating.

Dr Bloomfield told television station Three "it does look like we hit the peak a few days ago" when cases reached 83 on Sunday.

"People shouldn't worry if it does go up again. The key thing is we're on our way down," he said.

Experts share Dr Bloomfield's optimism - but caution against weak spots among New Zealand's current settings.

Nick Wilson, a professor of public health at the University of Otago, called recent drops "encouraging", noting the lower proportion of transmission in the community.

However, he notes with concern recent reports of three infections at an Auckland chicken-processing factory.

"The Delta variant is very infectious and so you could have a problem with an essential worker, causing infection in a workplace, so we could still have a super spreading event," he told AAP.

"We've seen very big outbreaks in meat processing plants in the US with atmospheric conditions in these factories and people being in close proximity."

He recommends an upgrading of workplace mask-wearing rules.

On the weekend, Ms Ardern also foreshadowed a tightening of workplace restrictions, but on Wednesday COVID-19 Minister Chris Hipkins said the government was happy with its current settings.

"We review information every day ... we haven't made further decisions on that yet," he said.

Dr Wilson cautioned against complacency.

"The government has been very slow on masks and it hasn't still hasn't mandated at the alert level four for masks in factories and office workers who are essential workers. That is one of its biggest mistakes, unfortunately," he said.

Among Dr Wilson's other suggestions are prioritising vaccination of essential workers and reducing worker numbers at businesses allowed to operated.

Respected COVID-19 modeler Shaun Hendy, a physics professor at the University of Auckland said he was pleased to finally see a downwards trend in this outbreak, predicting "ups and downs" in case numbers this week.

Dr Hendy agreed workplaces could be New Zealand's achilles heel.

"Workplaces remain a risk. It's where people are routinely in close contact and it poses the most risk. Compliance at level four could still be an issue," he told AAP.

Also on Wednesday, Ms Ardern's government reduced restrictions for many New Zealanders.

After a fortnight at level four lockdown, Jacinda Ardern's government lowered all places south of Auckland to level three, allowing most Kiwis the luxury of takeaway food.

Health officials also confirmed another bumper day of vaccinations, with 84,971 doses administered - around 1.6 per cent of the population.

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Cases bounce back up in New Zealand - PerthNow

There had been a steady rise in cases since lockdown. This caused particular angst on Saturday as the numbers were expected to peak by then. But Sunday came along and 83 cases were announced, pretty much the same as the day before. Keith Lynch looks at what is going on.

We are in a strict lockdown and the reason is simple: it is all about pushing down the R number of Covid-19. This is the average number of people that one infected person will pass the virus on to.

If this number is above 1, the virus is spreading, if it is below 1 the virus is dying out. On Sunday, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said models suggested the R number might now be about 0.8.

READ MORE:* Covid-19 NZ: Explaining why level 2 could be the new normal in the age of Delta* Covid-19: Daily case numbers are increasing quickly. This simple mathematical concept gives us reason for optimism* Explaining the variable that has a Covid-19 modeller most worried

Michael Plank, a professor at the school of mathematics and statistics at the University of Canterbury, and principal investigator at Te Pnaha Matatini, told Stuff last week he believed the R number for Delta was about 6 or more. For some context, the first Covid-19 variant to emerge had an R value of about 3.

There is something else about the R number that is worth going back to. It defines whether the virus is growing exponentially or not. On Wednesday, Bloomfield struck an optimistic note, stating Covid-19 case numbers were not increasing exponentially.

It is important to note that there are degrees of exponential growth. As my colleague Charlie Mitchell points out, if the R number is above 1, the spread is exponential.

Say there are 10 cases of Covid-19 and the R number is 1.2. Now get out your calculator and multiply 10 by 1.2. You will get 12. Now multiply 12 by 1.2. Keep multiplying the result by 1.2 and after enough cycles you will see more dramatic increases. This is technically still exponential growth.

Nowhere near as dramatic however as when there are 10 cases of Covid-19 and the R number is 6. Multiply 10 by six. Multiply 60 by six and continue. After a few cycles, you will see staggering numbers.

There are two groups of people that will define the outcome of this outbreak.

The R number in these two groupings is, and was, very clearly different.

The good news (and that term is very relative here) is that 70 of Saturdays 82 cases were linked to the largest cluster. And it appears most cases are now within the households of infected people.

If cases remain almost all within Group 1, that would be great. It would mean the lockdown is working keeping the rest of us walled off. It would lead to case numbers plateauing off over time, simply because there would not be anyone else within Group 1 to pass the virus on to.

On Saturday night, Plank posted on social media pointing out: there is a downward trend in the per cent change in average daily cases. This could suggest the R number within Group 1 could well be falling.

This trend continued on Sunday. But it is important to add a caveat, as Plank did: you should not read too much into one or two days.

Mark Mitchell

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said New Zealand is not running out of vaccines.

Some believe the case numbers in Group 1 may have already peaked, essentially knocking its R number under 1. This may be because of a lag in reporting of positive test results, particularly in those who caught the disease just before lockdown.

It would be very bad if the R number was above 1 in Group 2.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there had been transmission of Covid-19 among staff in four essential workplaces. This is clearly worrying and something to keep a close eye on.

If the virus is spreading, or starts spreading, among essential workers or those not adhering to the lockdown, then we have a real problem. It means the lockdown moat protecting the rest of the population has been breached.

(Obviously the more people in Group 1 that catch the virus, the more chance there is of a leak into Group 2.)

This is why University of Auckland Professor Shaun Hendy, another Covid-19 modeller, suggested that if this is the case the Government may need to take another look at what businesses are allowed to open at level 4 if the case numbers continue to rise. It is why Ardern suggested on Sunday that her Government may need to tighten level 4 up even further.

If the daily case numbers continue to shoot up this week, it may be that basically all of Group 1 has been infected and the virus has leaked into Group 2. If they plateau, that is a positive.

A few important things to finish: we should not read too much into one days numbers Saturdays or Sundays. We will learn a lot more in the next seven days.

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Covid-19 NZ: Explaining what is going on with the daily case numbers - Stuff.co.nz

BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope says its on the government if businesses are confused about whether they should be operating at level 4.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said 25 people had exposure events outside their household and four workplaces had transmission of Covid-19 within staff.

These are generally essential worksites and tend not to be customer facing sites, she said.

Weve asked for further analysis as to the nature of these workplaces so we can assess whether our level 4 rules on who is operating is being adhered to and whether our public health protocols for those businesses that are operating are fit for purpose."

READ MORE:* Manawat businesses struggle to navigate lockdown guidelines* Employee says his role is not essential but he still has to work* Covid-19: 'Highest possible price' paid again by hospitality sector

She said, if the Government needed to tighten restrictions further, it would.

What we want to do is make sure were being dynamic. That if we're getting information that shows us we have workplaces are operating that we believe are outside what they should be at level 4 we need to respond to that.

At this stage Ive had nothing to suggest its anything other than essential food services, packaging services, logistics.

Screengrab

Workers have spread Covid-19 between them at four sites, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.

Its not a matter of business as usual, if youre operating, businesses have rules. We want to cast our eyes over that with a delta lens.

Do we need to change that up to a certain degree, ask businesses to do more outside the factory floor?

Weve got four sites at the moment where we know theres been transmission between workers. If we get evidence we need to tighten things up we will. Some will just be the protocols adapting to delta. Some of it may be us saying we think there are too many businesses operating outside of already the rules that are there.

Ardern said businesses should only be providing services that allow people to continue to look after themselves in their homes, or continue their work in their homes.

We want to make sure people arent operating around the fringes of that in a way we wouldnt expect.

There have been reports of workers surprised to be called in to work when they did not think they were providing essential services.

Hope said if businesses were operating when they were not essential, that was due to a lack of clarity in the rules.

Theyve had 18 months to get this right. Its on the government to make sure its providing much, much clearer advice around what youre able to do and what youre not able to under level 4. The obligation is on them to communicate much more clearly.

He said the rules had changed slightly due to the delta variant.

But its arrival in the community was not a surprise and the Government should have clarified the rules beforehand, not once the country had gone into level 4, he said.

It really lacks clarity.

Hansells Masterton executive chairman Alan Stewart says any further restrictions on operations would be "impossible."

"There is no reason why an essential business cannot operate safely provided they observe the rules. Hansells has safely operated under previous lockdown and is doing so again this time.

"The food supply chain would be interrupted if supplies did not go to supermarkets and companies such as ours need to continue producing not only to supply supermarkets while in lockdown but also when we come out as there would be huge out of stocks after business comes back to normal."

EMA chief executive Brett ORiley said if it was clear what was required in terms of PPE and social distancing there should not be a reason for businesses not to open.

That are a lot of businesses that are closed in level 4 that could be safer than some that are allowed to open.

He said his organisation was working through the rules with the Government to determine how the rules would work when businesses in level 3 needed support and supplies from businesses in Auckland that were meant to be closed under level 4.

The rest is here:

Essential business confusion 'on the Government' - Stuff.co.nz

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAN -- By early next week, New Zealanders should know if their government's strict new lockdown is working to stamp out its first coronavirus outbreak in six months.

A successful effort could again make the nation's virus response the envy of the world. A failure could expose flaws in its health system, including a shortage of hospital beds and a slow vaccine rollout.

The high-stakes campaign hinges on whether new infections, which have risen for the past 10 days, begin to drop.

Last week, the government put the nation into the full lockdown after only a single community case was detected in the city of Auckland.

"It's counterintuitive," said epidemiologist Michael Baker. "When there's a threat, you usually increase the response as it gets more dangerous. Here, we're doing the opposite, with the maximum response when the threat is tiny."

It's a strategy that has worked incredibly well for New Zealand but faces its biggest test against a tougher enemy: the highly contagious delta variant of the virus. Baker, a professor at the University of Otago, said the strategy was the best approach and he was optimistic it would succeed again.

Since the pandemic began, New Zealand has reported only 26 deaths from the virus in a population of 5 million. The death rate per capita in Britain and the U.S. is about 400 times higher. Remarkably, life expectancy for New Zealanders actually rose in 2020 as virus measures helped reduce other seasonal ailments like the flu.

The U.S. is in the grip of a wave of infection powered by the delta variant, which has sent cases, deaths and hospitalizations soaring again, wiping out months of progress.

New Zealanders lived virus-free in the six months leading up to the latest outbreak, going to workplaces, stores and sports stadiums without needing to wear masks, while children attended school.

Then a traveler returning from Sydney brought the delta variant and it somehow escaped from a quarantine hotel. The outbreak has grown to about 350 known cases and is straining New Zealand's contact-tracing system as workers try to track down 30,000 other people who might have been exposed.

New Zealand has a large diaspora of Pacific Island people. The outbreak has hit this community particularly hard after spreading at a Samoan church event that drew hundreds. That led to some racist attacks on social media.

"This is disappointing and, frankly, gutless," said Ashley Bloomfield, the director-general of public health. "I'm asking everyone in the country to be kind."

The lockdown prevents most people from leaving home other than to exercise, or to buy groceries or medicine. Retail stores are closed, as are restaurants -- including takeout -- schools and most businesses.

While much of the world is learning to live with the virus and has moved away from hard lockdowns, most New Zealanders still embrace them.

"Fortunately, there's a great team spirit," said Lesley Gray, a public health specialist at the University of Otago. "It's quite obvious to me that the country would rather keep this out. We want to stamp it out, keep it out."

Among the handful of other places that have successfully pursued virus elimination strategies are China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.

Nearby Australia stamped out previous outbreaks but leaders say they can't get rid of the delta variant, which has continued to spread in Sydney despite a two-month lockdown. New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she'll ease restrictions for vaccinated adults next month, despite record infection numbers reaching more than 1,000 a day.

George Williams, a constitutional law expert at the University of New South Wales, said that while he supports the Sydney lockdown, he also sees risks in the government getting too comfortable in using its extraordinary powers.

"They're pretty draconian, quite authoritarian measures, which would be unthinkable outside a pandemic," he said, noting that unlike in many democracies, Australians aren't protected by a Bill of Rights.

Some Australians also are tiring of lockdowns. Hundreds have been arrested and given heavy fines this month for defying health orders at protests.

In New Zealand, where the lockdown is even stricter, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said about 70 protesters and other rule-breakers have been arrested since it began, but he's happy with the overall level of compliance.

With little else to do, many New Zealanders watch daily news conferences held by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and others. Like a slow-moving forensic drama, the briefings outline the latest infections, places those people visited and genome-sequencing results.

There have been moments of levity, such as when COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins misspoke about exercising outdoors, saying people could go "spread their legs" -- a comment quickly mocked on social media.

But there will be serious consequences if the lockdown fails.

New Zealand's vaccine rollout has been the slowest of any developed nation, with only 39% of people having gotten at least one shot and 22% fully vaccinated. The country chose to use only the Pfizer vaccine and didn't approve its use until two months after U.S. regulators first approved it for emergency use.

The government blames the initial slowness of the rollout on Pfizer's delivery schedule.

But opposition lawmaker Chris Bishop said the government's "negligent execution of the rollout has left New Zealand a sitting duck for the delta variant."

Vaccinations have sped up rapidly since the outbreak began, with health workers now giving doses to nearly 2% of the population every day.

Another challenge is a lack of intensive-care hospital beds. A recent report by a group of experts noted that at the pandemic's start, New Zealand had fewer than one-third the number than the average in developed nations, and little had changed since then.

"The New Zealand health system is still poorly resourced to deal with any large outbreak of a disease such as COVID-19," the report found.

Many New Zealanders are desperate to visit relatives abroad and want to know when the lockdowns will end and the borders will reopen. Ardern, the prime minister, has promised a cautious reopening early next year but has given few specifics.

"For now, while we vaccinate, elimination is the goal," she said. "And we can do it."

Read more from the original source:

New Zealand wages high-stakes effort to halt virus outbreak - CTV News

OPINION: And so lockdown drags on.

Empty streets, shuttered businesses, and people physically avoiding each other are bleak reminders that our normal way of living is now fragile.

That, and the us vs them group think mentality.

Us being the team of five million and them anyone who dares criticise the Governments approach.

READ MORE:* Where's the kindness fellow Kiwis?* Thanks for bringing us closer together, ScoMo! * Robust scrutiny by epidemic response committee needed

ROBERT KITCHIN/Stuff

The 1pm briefings skew the discourse in favour of the Government, at the expense of Opposition voices, which are already weakened, writes Andrea Vance. Pictured: Prime minister Jacinda Ardern.

On the advice of experts, most of us accept that the policing of the population is the only way to stop the deadly Covid-19 virus spreading further, or to a level that our hospitals can handle.

We are complying with restrictions on movement, gatherings, and even trading.

But that does not mean we gave up on freedom of expression.

Government supporters aggressively insist critics should shut up and trust the experts. That anyone questioning the prevailing approach is recklessly anti-science, undermining the response or indifferent to a higher death toll.

This is too crude. It is perfectly logical to accept the need for current restrictions, while criticising the Government for how we got here and the failings that led to it, not least in the vaccination roll-out.

Delta got in there should be hard questions about why so that the gaps are plugged. People are being denied the right to come home its only fair they get to question the managed isolation procedures keeping them out.

It is right that the decisions coming from the Beehive are informed by complex scientific evidence.

But that does not mean that only those with expertise have the right to an opinion.

No political decisions are based solely on pure science. If that were true, wed have solved the climate crisis 20 years ago, our fresh waterways would run clear, and homes would be affordable.

Political decisions always involve trade-offs, moral values and priorities.

Why shouldnt we hear from Scott Morrison? Hes dealing with the same pandemic, his experiences, and more importantly his mistakes, make him more than qualified to comment. Likewise, public policy experts in other countries add value were in uncharted waters, theres nothing to lose from hearing their views.

Its not defeatism, just debate. We can reject that which does not work or apply.

Its fantastic that the tight circle of academic experts advising the Government make themselves readily available to explain the modelling and the science.

In the pandemic, medical experts (the virologists, epidemiologists, statisticians and modellers) have become our modern-day talisman. Its a refreshing change from the tendency to devalue expertise seen in recent years.

But it would be unhealthy to hear from just them.

Expert knowledge reflects the assumptions and blind spots of the giver. Scientists disagree, evidence shifts (last year masks were ineffective, this year they are essential. Mandatory scanning couldnt be implemented at a meaningful level, now it can. All advice is, and should be, challengeable).

Obviously, there are caveats. Misinformation, especially when it is harmful, should be vigorously challenged.

The need for debate is vital.The normal checks and balances of our democracy are suspended at a time when they are most needed.

The 1pm briefings skew the discourse in favour of the Government, at the expense of Opposition voices, which are already weakened.

MONIQUE FORD/Stuff

Wellington streets are quiet in alert level 4.

Parliament is not sitting and the Government has refused to reconvene the Epidemic Response Committee. Regular select committees are controlled by Labour MPs and thus are not as robust as they should be.

Sweeping decisions on fundamental rights are being made on a daily basis without any kind of scrutiny. They might be right and justified, but that doesnt mean they shouldnt be examined and debated.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has given a spirited defence of her Governments decisions. Shes more than up to handling the criticism.

Of course, she must exude confidence in the strategy and maintain consistent and clear messaging. But its troubling when she says she doesn't want a debate.

And that makes it even more crucial to have robust scrutiny from outside her inner circle.

Because if they are the right decisions, then they remain the right decisions. Questions and alternative viewpoints wont change that, and we can be more confident were on the right course.

We shouldnt run from transparent and open debate scrutiny can only improve the decision-making.

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If the Government is making the right decisions on Covid-19, it will withstand scrutiny - Stuff.co.nz