NZ back into lockdown.

[Malin52]

1 case in the community. All of NZ back into lockdown Level 4 because no link to border found.

Hard and fast.

Superfairy you are coming across as totally clueless and ignorant here. You are embarrassing yourself, please stop.

@MaxNormal

we also have the responsibility of looking after our indigenous population who would be most affected if this were to spread out of control

That sentence doesn't sit right with me. It's very infantalising about your fellow adult citizens.

Ha ha ha. It's clear you have not met many Maori!

Several local iwi are setting up roadblocks to stop non locals from bringing covid in. The data shows that Maori have poorer health outcomes, and in general, have reason to distrust the mainstream medical system.

My local vaccine center is iwi led. This approach is designed to encourage vaccine uptake among our indigenous population. It's working. Many were worried Maori uptake would be lower but reports indicate it's on a par with our other ethnic groups. I am confident we'll hit 80%.

We have other ethnic groups which are also vulnerable. In Samoa, the flu in 1918 killed 20% of the population.

We need to balance the needs of these communities with the desires of Europeans to travel. My brother in the UK didn't see my parents for 2 years either.

We just need to hold out till Xmas. Then we can open up knowing that covid will spread but people will get less sick and fewer will die.

@SuperFairy

As much as the economy loved tourists, Kiwis were growing tired of the sheer numbers of people coming through - especially budget tourists who freedom camp. In the last 20 years our beauty spots have increasingly suffered (soiled toilet paper became the norm at nature spots, as well as dumped rubbish).

We seem to have done pretty well economically so far, compensating for our lack of tourism. Now, there are discussions going on about regulating tourism better, with fewer visitors. Maybe Covid was the excuse we needed.

@Taurangawaewae
The voice of reason you are!

Why do people get so angry about a country they don't live in and are clearly ignorant about? It's deeply weird.

I've never been gladder to be in Aotearoa than during this pandemic. The management has been so impressive and on the whole the people are great, v cooperative.

No NZ isn't perfect, of course we have plenty of issues that need work, but god it's nice to live somewhere where the govt puts people ahead of profit.

Well said @50ShadesOfCatholic

@Turangawaewae
Several local iwi are setting up roadblocks to stop non locals from bringing covid in. The data shows that Maori have poorer health outcomes, and in general, have reason to distrust the mainstream medical system

And good reason to distrust government in general given the sustained campaign of racism Māori have endured and are still subject to. Thank you colonialism, the gift that never stops giving.

Now 7 known cases. Vaccinations starting again tomorrow. I literally just got a text inviting me to book mine (I was fully vaccinated in May but thanks anyway).

They will find more cases. I hope they get substantially more jabs in arms over the coming days.

And yes it is right to protect the indigenous population. I am all for prioritising Maori and Pacific people for vaccinations.

@MauisLeftNipple

And yes it is right to protect the indigenous population. I am all for prioritising Maori and Pacific people for vaccinations.

Me too. The uptake hasn't been great though. I think more work is needed.

@Remmy123

Lockdown because of one case??? Wow.

Thank god I don't live there. To keep locking down like that isn't sustainable, will they do this forever then?

Except they don’t keep locking down!

This thread in a nutshell:

Some people: you’re doomed NZ!
NZers: Yeah, nah, we’re fine thanks
Others: you’ll learn! Just wait! Doom is coming!
NZers: Yeah nah we’re actually fine with this lockdown, we’re okay
Others: But the dooooom! You not accepting our doom-laden scenarios is proof of your smugness! Hahaha bet your sorry now
NZers: yeah … we’re fine thanks …
Others: Doooooom!

On the vaccination topic, was NZ affected by supply issue (similar to my country), because the European counties got first dibs at most of the vaccines?

@isthismylifenow

On the vaccination topic, was NZ affected by supply issue (similar to my country), because the European counties got first dibs at most of the vaccines?

There have been some supply issues but more recently stock has been arriving early.

To whoever asked about NZ making its own vaccine, yes this has been happening for more than a year. There are plenty in development and/or awaiting approval.

It's been so good to hear from the many NZ MN-members on this thread.
However, I disagree with many of them. That's how it works; they will hate my views. For example:
@IfYoureCrappyAndYouKnowIt - no, it doesn't look quite different in NZ. There has been INEPTITUDE. The management of the vaccine rollout was appalling until just weeks ago. The management of MIQ continues to be totally inept. Far too many exceptions have been made for entertainers, sportspeople and millionaires. Genuine kiwis wanting to return home, cancer patients (FFS!), others needing to return on compassionate grounds ... cannot get MIQ places. And why wasn't there already a plan as to how to keep vaccination centres safe during a lockdown??
@Athrawes - "many [kiwis] would be quite happy for us to stay this way for the next decade if that's what it takes". I don't know who you mix with but I cannot believe you'd think that was true.
Someone mentioned that vaccinations here would be slow because we have to pay to see a doctor; that's irrelevant. Vaccinations are free ... they just haven't been freely available until recently because the rollout was so slow and poorly managed.
The most shocking announcement I heard from JA today was that, while everyone is encouraged to get jabbed ASAP, having a high vaccination rate will not prevent these lockdowns. They will be an ongoing feature of NZ life. Yeah, how to kill the motivation to be vaccinated, Jacinda.

Another Kiwi here.

We don’t have any issues going into full lockdown because - and this is kind of critical - we haven’t just spent months and months and months in lockdown.

Unlike the rest of the world, we’ve been living normal lives since May 2020. Yes, Auckland has gone into a couple of short lockdowns since then.

But the majority of the country has been living normally.

I can see why lockdown-fatigued Brits might look at this in horror. But we’re all pretty much 🤷🏻‍♀️ let’s do this.

We know ‘go hard, go early’ works, so we’re cool with it.

It was nice not rushing around this morning getting kids ready for school.

And we’re all confident we’ll come out of this very soon and carry on normally. Once again.

Oh, and I’ve just booked my first vaccination for tomorrow. My age group has just become eligible.

@TheKeatingFive

It’s interesting to note that both Aus/NZ used the benefit of having more time than others spectacularly to their advantage last March when it came to prepping their countries for lockdown.

Yet both have squandered it really badly now when it comes to vaccine rollout.

Perhaps the psychology of vaccine acceptance is just totally different? Having a sense of urgency is really beneficial for vaccine take up.

I wondered whether the train crash that is about to happen in schools, along with 'ignoring' covid mentality now (UK), despite high cases, 170 deaths today, more kids in hospital than in January peak etc is to panic people into vaccinating kids when it becomes available. I thought the same when the 'vaccine passport' for 18 plus was announced. How do you align the message that at 17 you do not need any protecting, but reach 18 and you need vaccination? I'm double vaxed btw.

For many here, NZ seems a bit OTT, but we have taken an OTT approach in ignoring covid/acting too late/government squandering goodwill. Personally, I'd like a middle ground that accepts living with covid, at least for now, means retaining some mitigations. However, that's not an option here, despite the long term health and economic benefits of that approach above ours. I'd pick New Zealand's strategy over ours any day, as morally, what we are doing now, whilst pretending there's no alternative sickens me. I also think NZ has more genuine freedom. Also, to trust that a government has the country's best interests at heart - even if you disagree with them - is something that seems impossible in the UK for many right now.

There could be many factors contributing the slow vaccine rollout. I'm not sure what availability is but remember NZ don't have the same free GP service we have here, you have to pay to see a doctor. I believe there is a shortage of medical staff too/those trained to deliver the vaccine (isn't there everywhere though?)

I think NZ have done brilliantly in many ways. But that last statment isn't true in the UK the one thing which jas worked is the vaccination drive. There was and is no shortage of vaccinators, I am NHS and most people I know (Drs, Nurses, Paramedics) were putting in extra shifts in January-April to get those jabs in. There is a rwason our highest vaccination days were saturdays. Until very, very recently we were only limited by supply. We are now limited by the number of willing imvaccinated adults left.

Apologies for typos, I need some coffee

Yup, most Kiwis are cool with lockdown. Deep down we love it. An earlier poster said we like the "low energy" full life and I kind of agree.

Re: vaccine take up in Maori and pasifika populations. The take up rates are very low for most age groups. Access is an issue but there's also a big problem with evangelical churches preaching an anti vaccination message, 'fake news' on social media (and a lack of sophistication when it comes to spotting when it's fake) and many Maori/pasifika are not desperate to travel anywhere anyway. Those who have family elsewhere have them in Aussie and were able to reunite when the trans-Tasman bubble was open. So they're like, whatever, we don't care if no-one comes and no-one goes. It's full employment for lower skilled people now that we aren't importing them from overseas at lower rates.... Shut borders are quite nice for them.

By the way I'm not in NZ but in a Pacific country that is very dependent on borders opening again soon as possible.

Slow vaccine roll out was due to weak negotiation and a lack of willingness to pay extra for quick delivery. Also, NZ Govt chose Pfizer which was the last (I think) to be released into use. Plus, we have a complex and dispersed health system and remote communities, making just-in-time delivery of a vaccine complicated to plan and execute.

Pfzier was the first to be approved in the UK and US (first week of December). I thought NZ went with it becuase of the amazing trial data (97% effective). With such high efficacy and low community rates, zero Covid would have been possible.

Sadly pfzier is only (best guess) 60-70% effective against Delta and may well wan with time