There are 204 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today.
(File image) Photo: 123RF
In a statement, the Ministry of Health said the new community cases were in Northland (8), Auckland (135), Waikato (35), Rotorua (1), Taupō (1), Bay of Plenty (11),Taranaki (1), Palmerston North (2) Wellington (3), Hutt Valley (3), Nelson Marlborough (1), Canterbury (3)
There are 16 cases in hospital, although none are in ICU.
The ministry said there were 46 cases in MIQ reported yesterday, with travellers arriving from India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Pakistan, UK, Australia, Fiji, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, France, USA and the Philippines.
There were 60,537 booster doses given yesterday, as well as 812 first doses, 1772 second doses and 2209 paediatric doses.
The ministry said today it was starting a national week of action called ‘The Big Boost’ today, making it as easy as possible to get a booster, with pop-up vaccination centres and extended opening hours.
It said all DHBs have now fully vaccinated 90 percent of their Pacific communities, with Whanganui reaching the milestone yesterday.
“Advocates, church groups, health providers and countless other entities across the motu have led the way in ensuring that our Pacific populations have some of the highest vaccination rates in the country.”
There seems to be different approaches taken by supermarkets over limited sales of some products, with Countdown not having any in place on products apart from Panadol and Ibuprofen.
Countdown says it can bring in restrictions on products in a matter of hours if needed. File photo Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Countdown corporate affairs general manager Kiri Hannifin told Morning Report they have found that putting restrictions in place could be counterproductive.
“If we needed restrictions, if people were buying too much or we were short of stock, we would put restrictions in place. But we don’t need to at the moment,” Hannifin said.
Restrictions could raise anxiety instead of prevent panic-buying, she said.
“And that’s counterproductive because it just wipes out the shelves … we think it causes unnecessary concern.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson has already warned that it is “inevitable” there will be some impact on the supply-chain as Omicron spreads in the community, but he said officials would be working to minimise disruption.
If there was surge in buying as a result of disruption in the supply, as witnessed in Australia, then Countdown could easily bring in restrictions in a matter of hours, Hannifin said.
“It’s been very difficult for our business in Australia and they saw significant disruption and lots of supply issues in stores, that started basically in the farm or in the food plant,” she said.
“So, we’re planning for it. I guess we’ve expected it before now. We were sort of thinking we might see some problems or some issues last week, but we’re doing pretty well as a country, so we’re … kind of bracing ourselves for disruption, but not seeing it at the moment.
“But if it’s like Australia, it will be a bit difficult for us and Kiwis will have to be a little bit patient because there will be some gaps on the shelves, but hopefully if we keep going like we’re doing at the moment as a country and scanning in and testing and wearing masks, we might not see it so significant.”
Countdown was also preparing for up to 30 percent of staff to be away at any one time, at any site, Hannifin said.
“We’ve got different plans, depending on where that is in the country. So for Auckland or Wellington, it’s very easy to manage, [but] it’s much harder to manage in Taupō or Queenstown, where there’s only one store.
“And of course, the distribution centres – we need sort of 85 percent of our team to be there to run [it], so we’ve got different sort of Covid protocols depending on where we are and what we’re doing.”
There is already one store where a section has had to be closed down because of team members isolating, Hannifin said.
“So we’re already sort of doing it, but nowhere near as impactful as it was last August when we had 3000 people away, so we closed nine stores in Auckland to kind of deal with it. So we can close stores, we can reduce hours, we can close the deli or the bakery, we can close down a particular aisle.”
She said they were very mindful of regions where there was only store supplying them.
“In those areas, like for example, Dargaville, we’re looking at whether we’ll do you know RAT [rapid antigen] testing in that store to kind of have elevated Covid controls, stop online delivery, really kind of reduce the service to very basic food and grocery so that we can run with say 60 percent of the team.”
But it was not just about the logistics of keeping a store open and running, Hannifin said they wanted to ensure the well-being of staff too.
A team of workers from Elon Musk’s SpaceX are in Fiji trying to re-establish full internet communications in Tonga, with a Starlink broadband connection.
A view over an area of Tonga that shows the heavy ash fall from the recent volcanic eruption within the Tongan Islands. Photo: Supplied / NZ Defence Force
Starlink uses satellites to connect remote areas to the internet.
It came 25 days after Tonga lost all communications when its Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted, severing its undersea cable.
Gorilla Technology chief executive Paul Spain told Morning Report while satellite internet has been available for a number of years, SpaceX’s satellites were much closer to the Earth that had been seen before.
“Really, it just allows them to deliver just incredible internet performance.”
The current satellite internet available in Tonga was very limited, he said. Starlink would allow widespread internet availability while the fiber optic cable was still damaged.
Cable connection was always better from a performance and bandwidth perspective but having the option available would be fantastic, he said.
Not all Tongan islands had fiber optic cable running to them, he said.
“This may be a permanent option for some of those particular locations.”
The Starlink base service sells in New Zealand for $159, a cost that could be potentially shared among a group of people, he said.
“It’s pretty accessible considering this is an unlimited or uncapped service compared to what we’ve had in the past and also considering the level of performance and the lack of delays.”
More than 50 police have formed a ring around the front of Parliament edging up to a line of protesters who have linked arms lining up in front of the cenotaph.
One person speaking said he would walk up the Parliament steps at 3pm and get arrested, inviting others in the crowd to join, saying “see you at 3pm” to cheers from the crowd.
The group is part of a convoy which travelled to the capital yesterday to protest against Covid-19 vaccine mandates.
Steel barriers have been put up in front of the protesters.
The crowd was still largely peaceful but some were heckling police and the temperature was starting to rise.
Protesters who spent the night camped on Parliament grounds have been warned they could be issued with a trespass notice.
Trucks and other vehicles are blocking Molesworth Street.
Police issued a statement late last night saying they were monitoring the situation and were talking with the Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard.
More than 50 police have formed a ring around the front of Parliament edging up to a line of protesters who had linked arms lining up in front of the cenotaph. Photo: RNZ / Jane Patterson
Protesters have been given a letter from the Speaker setting out Parliament’s rules, which prohibit staying overnight on the grounds and ban tents or other structures.
Specific policies mentioned in the letter include leaving the grounds in an orderly manner and not interfering with traffic.
“Participants must assemble within and disperse from the grounds in an orderly manner, and so as to not interfere with the flow of vehicular traffic.”
Police forming a ring around the front of Parliament. Photo: RNZ / Jane Patterson
It also mentions that tents and structures are banned from the grounds.
“No erection of tents or any structure is permitted other than hand held signs … structures including tents as mentioned above are not permitted and if not removed when requested, are liable for confiscation.”
Protesters outside Parliament. Photo: RNZ / Jane Patterson
It said if the rules were breached people could be trespassed and their equipment confiscated.
“In line with these existing policies, please disassemble any tents or structures and remove them from the grounds. Do not continue protests or demonstrations on the grounds after dark. The breach of the above policies and failure to carry out the actions may result in trespass notices being issued.”
A truck and vans from the convoy covered in protest messages. Photo: RNZ / Hamish Cardwell
There are also campervans parked in nearby streets and the police say Molesworth Street in front of Parliament is not accessible to traffic, and drivers should avoid the area this morning.
It is not clear how long the protesters will be allowed to stay.
Tents set up in the grounds of the law school over the road from Parliament. Photo: RNZ / Hamish Cardwell
Wellington City Council is talking with police about their options to deal with cars illegally blocking the roads and footpath near Parliament.
Council spokesperson Richard MacLean said if cars were to be removed there would be resources needed.
He said the council wants to avoid confrontation but are planning for if it were to arise.
Motorists are still being advised to avoid the area if possible.
The scene from the front lawn of Parliament. The media are no longer allowed on the grounds. Photo: RNZ / Hamish Cardwell
A Tongan man who is in Australia under the country’s Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP) has suffered severe burns after what appeared to be a freak barbeque accident.
Sione Lāvalu was rushed to Brisbane’s Royal Hospital on Sunday.
He was provided medical assistance yesterday while he was reportedly in a coma.
The family hope for the best and asked for prayers on social media.
“We hope he will wake up. Don’t stop praying Sione is fighting for his life,” his brother Manase Lavalu wrote on Facebook in Tongan.
Manase told Kaniva News an ambulance had picked up Sione from the property in which he lived after a “bbq accident’.
Sione Lavalu. Photo/Supplied
He said it appeared methylated spirits or benzine had been involved.
Manase claimed an investigation was underway to confirm the cause of injuries.
He said he was informed about the alleged accident after a person from Sione’s Tongan SWP group contacted his aunty in Logan.
Manase lived in Sydney but he flew to Brisbane to see Sione.
The incident comes amid investigations in Perth after another Tongan SWP employee was allegedly beaten.
In the Perth case, Tonga’s Minister of Internal Affairs said the safety of the SWP employees is paramount and priority and his Ministry was investigating the incident.
Family patriarch, Tau Tāufa has passed away more than a decade after 11 household members perished in one of Australia’s worst house fires.
The fierce blaze tore through the Tāufa family’s home at Slacks Creek, 25km south of Brisbane on August 24, 2011.
Tau lost his wife, daughter and three grandchildren, and his wife’s sister and her five children; the victims ranged in age from three to 57 years.
Tau, who was 65 at the time, his brother-in-law, Jeremiah Lale, 36, and son-in-law, Misi Matauaina, 26, were the only three of the 14 people staying the night in the house to walk out alive.
Family patriarch, Tau Taufa has passed away more than a decade after 11 household members perished in one of Australia’s worst house fires.
The flames were so intense it took several weeks to identify the dead. They were Tau’s wife, Fusi, 57, his daughter and Mr Matauaina’s wife, Annamaria, 23, and their children, Kahlani, three, and La’Haina Matauaina, seven, Fusi’s sister and the wife of Jeremiah Lale, Neti-Teukisia Lale, her children, Jerry, 18, Paul, 17, and Richie, eight, and daughters Lafoa’i, 14, and Sela, 10, and another of Mr Taufa’s granddaughters, Ardelle Lee, 16, who was staying the night.
The family announced Tau’s death last month.
“Today we farewelled the Patriarch of the Taufa Family, one of the survivors of the devastating Slacks Creek House Fire back in 2011”, a post on Facebook by the Logan Housefire Network Support said.
“Taukinukufili Taufa known as Tau to many sadly passed away 13/1/22 after a long battle with Dementia”, it said.
“Today we said goodbye to him to join his 11 Angels tragically taken on the 24th August 2011.
“Tau, you are loved by many and will certainly be missed by many especially your Daughter Treicee, and sons Sam and Loto.
There are 202 new community cases of Covid-19 being reported today, with 63 in MIQ.
Photo: 123rf.com
In a statement, the Ministry of Health said the new cases are in Northland (17), Auckland (119), Waikato (39), Lakes (4), Bay of Plenty (8), Taranaki (1), Hawke’s Bay (8), Hutt Valley (1), Capital & Coast (4), and Nelson Marlborough (1).
Fourteen people are in hospital with Covid-19, including one in intensive care in Rotorua.
On a number of cases being identified at schools, the ministry said it is not unexpected following the start of the school year.
“A range of public health measures have been established to help ensure our tamariki are well protected from Covid-19 at school.
“Vaccination continues to be New Zealand’s best defence against Covid-19, and vaccination of those currently eligible will help to both protect children and further lower the risk of transmission in schools. All staff in schools are required to be vaccinated and the vaccination programme is well underway for 5 to 11-year-olds.”
There are requirements for mask wearing such as for visitors, and for staff and students in Year 4 and above, when at Red. Where not required, mask wearing is encouraged, especially in higher density indoor settings where there is an increased risk of transmission, the ministry said.
On vaccinations, there were 18,655 booster doses administered yesterday, taking the total to date to 1,605,815. Also, 1502 paediatric doses were given yesterday, bringing the total to 200,562.
The ministry said with Omicron in New Zealand, one of the best things you can do is get your booster as soon as it is due.
In the last 24 hours, there were 13,997 Covid-19 tests.
Minister of Health Dr Saia Piukala. Photo/Screenshot (FM87.5 online)
The Minister of Health believes some people weren’t initially forthcoming with information, after six new community cases recorded today, four in Vainī, two in Pili.
The six new Tongatapu cases are linked to the initial Covid cases.
The new cases bring the number of active cases to a total of 14 with an earlier case been recovered.
Tongatapu and Vava’u were currently in a two-week extended lockdown since Sunday.
Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku said special and urgent services were conducted in Vainī and Pili this morning to test residents there as part of an attempt to contain the spread of the virus. Health officials will also test people at roadblocks on these two villages’ borders.
People from other places were asked not to go to these two villages except for passing vehicles.
The Minister of Health Saia Piukala said during a press conference this morning the new cases were close contacts of the previous cases number fifth and seventh.
In the Vainī case a family of four were identified as a close contact while the two patients in Pili were people who attended a kava session together with one of the active cases.
Hon Piukala urged the public to tell the truth and help the Ministry of Health with any information they needed about a suspected case.
The Minster has warned that when people withheld information it put the whole community at risk of contracting the virus.
NEMO recalls canned pork it distributed on Saturday
The CEO of the Ministry of Revenue and Customs, Kelemete Vahe, has apologised for the mistake the Ministry has made by allowing banned products to enter the country.
Vahe was responding after the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (MAFF) issued a recall of canned pork the National Emergency Management Operation (NEMO) had distributed on Saturday.
Vahe said the products were blacklisted by MAFF and he was notified about the ban about two years ago.
Vahe said the problem occurred when the tsunami relief shipments were released from quarantine last week. The blacklist was overlooked due to most of the senior officers being isolated at home because of the Covid restriction guidelines.
He said not all officers were working at the same time. They worked in shifts to make sure there were staff at the borders while others were isolating at home
“In fact it was forgotten to remind those working at the time to look out for the banned products,” Vahe told Katalina Tohi of radio FM87.5 in Tongan.
“We apologise. They can be recalled and people are warned about them”.
Deputy Minister and Minister of Disaster Poasi Tei
Vahe said the matter was discussed with the Chinese embassy in Tonga as they have more relief shipments coming to the kingdom.
The government did not give further details as to why the products were recalled apart from Vahe saying the canned pork was “dangerous for animals”.
However, while Tohi interviewed Vahe this morning she claimed the recall was made in fear of “yellow swine fever” to which Vahe agreed and said in Tongan “’io, ko ia” which was in English he was saying – yes, it is.
Products should stop at border
The Minister of Disaster Poasi Tei said the canned pork products recalled by the government yesterday should have been stopped at the border.
He said he only became aware of the incident on Sunday and ordered a stop to any further distribution of the products.
Hon. Tei appeared to have questioned the MAFF about the way it handled the products.
“I greatly respect the Ministry of MAFF, but there was a procedure of identifying food which are banned from Tonga,” he said.
“It should have been stopped at the ports of entry whether it came through the airport or the wharf.”
Hon. Tei was responding after MAFF recalled the products on Saturday just hours after they were distributed in Tongatapu as part of the tsunami relief goods.
He said the government trusted that the relief aid donor countries only donated the best food.
“They would not like to tarnish their good reputation,” he said.
Canned pork
As we reported yesterday, MAFF warned residents on Saturday not to eat or dump the cans if they had been opened.
CEO Kelemete Vahe. Photo/Tonga Broadcasting Commission
Photos of what appeared to be the products were shared on Facebook on Sunday.
It showed one of the apparent products with its label written in Asian and English languages.
One says: “Canned Pork Luncheon Meat”.
It also showed the company’s name, “Guangzhou Eagle-Coin Food Group Co. Ltd”.
The Chinese company was previously known as Guangdong Cannery and it said on its website that it integrated more than ten food and beverage enterprises, including Guangqixiang Cannery, Yangcheng food factory, Lingnan biscuit factory, Asian soda factory and Conghua Sanhua distillery.
Swine flu
Yellow swine fever caused a pandemic in 2009. The virus originated from pigs in a very small region of central Mexico.
From April 12 2009 to April 10, 2010, the United States Centre for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that there were 60.8 million cases with 274,304 hospitalisations and 12,469 deaths in the United States.
Chinese scientists discovered a new strain of the virus in 2020, which they said had the potential to spread to humans and cause another pandemic.
It is the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus, the first being the 1918–1920 Spanish flu pandemic and the second being the 1977 Russian flu.
When Spanish flu reached Tonga in 1918, with the arrival of a ship carrying sick passengers, the infection spread rapidly.
It is estimated up to 8 percent of the population died as a result.
Covid-19
Coupled with a powerful tsunami which killed four, flattened houses andblanketed almost the whole country with think layer of ash, Tonga recorded its first community Covid cases last week.
The Prime Minister ordered a nationwide lockdown on Wednesday last week which was subject to a 48 hour review.
Yesterday the lockdown was extended for another 14 days after two more cases were detected bringing the total of the active cases to eight with an earlier case been recovered.
