There have been 175 new community cases reported in New Zealand today, with 93 people now in hospital.
There was no media conference today. In a statement, the Ministry of Health said there were 159 cases in Auckland, two in Northland, and eight in Waikato.
Nine of the 93 cases in hospital are in intensive care.
Close to 60 percent – 50 cases – of those in hospital with Covid-19 are either unvaccinated or not eligible. Eight cases in hospital are fully vaccinated.
It said the person’s four household contacts were being tested today.
There were also five cases in Taranaki added to the total, although these were part of the six Stratford cases revealed on Thursday night.
The ministry did say there are five other close contacts of the Stratford cases – three have returned negative results, including two people who had been in Wairarapa, and results on the other two are pending.
The one Taranaki case who had been admitted to Taranaki Base Hospital for Covid-19 related reasons has now been discharged and is at home isolating with the five remaining cases.
The two new Northland cases have clear links to known cases.
Seven of the eight new cases in Waikato are known contacts and public health staff are today investigating the remaining case to determine any links to known cases.
Four of the cases are from Hamilton, three from Ōtorohanga, and one location is yet to be confirmed.
There were also two new cases of the coronavirus in managed isolation today.
There are 201 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today, including 15 in Waikato, one in Taranaki, four in Northland and the rest in Auckland.
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The six cases of Covid-19 in Stratford reported last night – five of which will be added to tomorrow’s total – have sparked a renewed push for people there to get tested and vaccinated.
Iwi in the Far North are disappointed by the government’s decision to move Northland down to alert level 2 overnight despite seven new cases there being announced yesterday.
Teachers could be fined if they try to turn up to class next week without being vaccinated.
And hospitals are making final efforts to see whether unvaccinated workers will change their mind before they have to be stood down from their jobs next week.
The Democrats’ (PTOA) Core Team disregarded a strong majority survey by Tongatapu 7 voters preferring PTOA candidate Paula Piveni Piukala to run for the electorate in next week’s general election.
Paula Piveni Piukala
The Core Team clashed over Tongatapu 7’s preference before they agreed to nominate independent candidate Sangstar Saulala to be their candidate.
The Core Team’s decision came after its leader Sēmisi Sika attempted to keep all members happy by contacting Saulala.
In a copy of what had been said to be the Core Team’s e-mail exchanges seen by Kaniva News the members were told their nomination for Tongatapu 7 was Piveni after a survey showed he was preferred by the majority of the constituency.
It appeared some Core Team members immediately opposed the survey result. It also appeared that some were still holding a grudge against Piveni after he took side with defected Siaosi Pōhiva and his brother Saia Piukala and formed up the new PTOA party known as PTOA People’s Board or Poate PTOA ‘a e Kakai’ early this year.
Interestingly, the Core Team members still agreed to nominate Siaosi as their candidate for Tongatapu 1 and Saia Piukala as their candidate to run for Vava’u 14.
Piveni, who was already nominated by the People’s PTOA Board as their candidate for Tongatapu 7, was vocal in criticising some of the Core Team members for their part in losing the government in 2019 after the death of the late Prime Minister and PTOA founder ‘Akilisi Pōhiva.
E-mails
A copy of the e-mails seen by Kaniva News read in Tongan: “Na’a’ ku fokotu’u atu ke tau fai ‘aki pe a Piveni ‘o makatu’unga ko e loto o e kakai (savea). Neongo oku tau lotomamahi kotoa he ngaahi uesia lahi oku ne fakahoko moe paati a Siaosi ki he kau poupou pea nau tukuhifo kitautolu moe poate pea nau faka’ikaii’i mo situ’a mei he tataki ‘a e poate pule ‘a e PTOA. Neongo ai ia, ka ko Piveni a e fili a e kakai mei he toko 3 na’e talamai ‘e he kakai o Tongatapu 7 oku nau falala ki ai”.
PTOA Core Team Leader Sēmisi Sika
The e-mail also revealed Saulala agreed the Core Team could nominate him as their candidate while Saulala would still run as an independent candidate.
In Tongan the e-mail read: “ Ne fetu’utaki mai a Sangster ‘o ma talanoa pea ne tali fiefia ‘a ‘eku fakaafe ke tau ngaue fakataha ma’ae paati PTOA pea ke hoko ko e fakafofonga ma’a Tongatapu 7 ma’ae PTOA neongo ‘e lele tau’ataina pe”.
Saulala and PTOA
Saulala was elected into parliament in 2014 as PTOA MP. However, he later broke away and voted for the then Prime Minister Lord Tu’ivakanō rescuing the noble-led government from being defeated in a Vote of No Confidence tabled by the PTOA party.
Critics believed Saulala’s nomination by the Core Team just a week before the election was a dangerous move by the Democrats as it could split the PTOA voters. The split will mean that the two PTOA factions will be fighting for the same vote while the independent candidates could see this as an opportunity for them to gain more votes.
As we reported previously, Tonga will go to the elections next week with the opposition strategically weakened by a split in the PTOA Party.
The PTOA – the Democrats who were led to two election victories by the late ‘Akilisi Pōhiva – have split into two groups.
It appears the two PTOA factions were trying to sort out their differences recently but what has actually been seen by the public now was that the solution they have come up with could cause them more troubles than good in next week’s elections.
Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa has disparaged the Opposition Leader Sēmisi Sika and accused him of being troublesome.
Dr Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa. Photo/Kalino Lātū (Kaniva Tonga)
He berated Sika and described his attitude in Tongan as attempting to disrupt what had been organised for the country.
Tu’i’onetoa said it was humiliating for him to see Sika and the PTOA party in disarray.
In a very strongly worded e-mail in Tongan, the Prime Minister described the Opposition Leader as was out of step with his party and being unable to make up his mind.
The Prime Minister warned Sika to be careful otherwise his indecisiveness would cause him trouble.
Tu’i’onetoa accused Sika of having an unclear vision for the PTOA.
E-mails / arguments
The Prime Minister’s outburst appeared to have been provoked by Hon. Sika’s e-mails to him including one in which he asked Hon. Tu’i’onetoa to clarify and update him on the new construction seen at Vuna wharf shores recently.
Sika reminded Tu’i’onetoa that the king had warned his government that business services should be given to private sectors.
Opposition Leader Sēmisi Sika
Sika argued that this area of the wharf should be reserved for tourist activities only and there was no need for the government to operate businesses there including night markets.
Hon. Tu’i’onetoa told Hon. Sika the construction was approved by the Cabinet in 2016 after an agreement with the Ports Authority to include a night market for businesses to operate there and pay fees to help pay Tonga’s loan from China.
He said the Ministry of Finance had estimated that these businesses could collect $300,000 a year to help pay for the loan.
Vuna wharf was funded from the multimillion loan from China to rebuild Nuku’alofa after the 2006 riots and the destruction of the capital.
Deplorable / lying
Hon. Sika forwarded the Prime Minister’s response to him to Kaniva News and described it in Tongan as degrading and deplorable.
Reponding to Tu’i’onetoa, Sika accused the Prime Minister of lying that he attempted to wipe out the Tourism Board, when he was the Minister of Tourism.
He asked the Prime Minister to calm down and stop being so emotional.
He asked Tu’i’onetoa to stop being hateful and let them talk in a good spirit for the benefit of the country.
The Prime Minister is no stranger to attacking his critics and media personally.
In March Sika accused Tu’i’onetoa of lying about him when the Prime Minister was interviewed about why the government did not repair damages to the roads after recent heavy raining and flooding.
Early this week Tu’i’onetoa was accused of attacking a female journalist who was trying to do her job and asked him during a press conference to give a financial statement about the government’s Covid-19 response budget.
Fiji has reopened its international borders after Covid-19 closed them more than 18 months ago.
From today, only fully vaccinated diplomats, returning Fijian residents, permit holders and those approved by the Covid-19 Risk Mitigation Taskforce will be allowed in.
Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said fully vaccinated tourists from travel partners including New Zealand, Australia, the UK and the United States can enter Fiji from 1 December.
Nadi International Airport in Fiji. Photo: Supplied/Fiji Airports
Fiji’s Health Ministry said the quarantine protocols to support international travel have been “adjusted to take into account the increasing protection gained by having fully vaccinated persons travelling with other vaccinated persons to highly vaccinated destinations.”
“This will involve less stringent conditions with more priority given to the testing protocols that ensure early identification and isolation of positive travellers,” said Health Secretary James Fong.
“From the 11th of November, we will be transitioning Border Quarantine Protocols to Border Risk Reduction Protocol for all travellers coming in from Travel Partner Countries.
“This will involve a three-day stay in a hotel with a test to be done on day 2. A negative result will allow for discharge into the community on day 3.
“From the 11th of November, incoming travel will be restricted to diplomats, returning residents, permit holders and those approved by the Covid-19 Risk Mitigation Taskforce.
“Our Border Risk Reduction Protocol Processes will be trailed during this time and further refined in preparation for December 1st when tourists can start arriving in Fiji,” Dr Fong said.
Approvals to home quarantine will be extremely limited during this pilot phase, he said.
Dr Fong said changes to domestic travel quarantine protocols will be announced on Friday once the vaccination coverage data in Vanua Levu and some of the maritime islands are received by the ministry.
Four more deaths
Four people have died from Covid-19 in Fiji and there are 58 new cases reported since Tuesday.
This brings the total number of active cases to 813 while the death toll is now at 679.
The four victims were aged between 50 and 75, with three of them dying at home and one at a hospital.
“We have also recorded 578 Covid positive patients who died from serious medical conditions they had before they contracted Covid-19; these are not classified as Covid deaths,” said Dr Fong.
There were 52,285 cases since the April outbreak this year, with 52,356 cases since the pandemic started in March last year, he said.
Dr Fong also said 88.7 percent or 548,456 of the adult population were fully vaccinated and 22,117 children aged 15-17 got both jabs.
“With borders opening, we anticipate our testing numbers to increase from local and international repatriates as well as visitors entering the country.”
By Paul Heyward of ‘The Conversation’. Republished with permission
The news that all staff members at a small King Country school were still unvaccinated a week out from the government’s November 15 mandatory deadline underlines how challenging the weeks ahead might be.
Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
Next Monday marks the day teachers will need to have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine if they want to continue to work with students in a face-to-face learning environment.
It will also be the day educational leaders find out with some certainty who their vaccine-hesitant colleagues are, and when the career pathways of many committed educators will come to a crossroads.
With it looking likely some schools will face significant staff shortages, the teaching profession now has to seriously wrestle with how to demonstrate the value of manaakitanga to all colleagues, including the unvaccinated.
The code of responsibility
As a fully registered teacher (as well as an academic) I will be free to teach in New Zealand schools, alert levels allowing, because I am double vaccinated. But I know that is not the case for some of my very talented and committed colleagues who have refused the Pfizer jab.
I can only imagine the professional identity crises these colleagues must be experiencing.
I’m thinking of those teachers who sincerely believe they are honouring their commitment to society – espoused in the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand (TCANZ) Code of Professional Responsibility – by standing up for the human rights of New Zealanders to bodily autonomy.
I’m thinking of those teachers who passionately believe they are honouring their commitment to society by displaying the ethical integrity to stand up to a power they believe is misleading the public.
I’m thinking of those teachers who believe they are “walking the talk” of a critically reflective practitioner by refusing to be vaccinated.
And I’m thinking of my own commitment to those teachers as my professional colleagues, notwithstanding my fundamental disagreement with their anti-vaccination beliefs.
Teaching as an ethical activity
The TCANZ guiding document for teachers – Our Code, Our Standards – outlines the ethical commitments of all teachers. The council recognises that for the code to be “owned”, the professional commitments should not be seen as a list of prescribed rules.
Rather, it is a set of agreed aspirations that encourage collaborative conversations between practitioners about the ethical nature of their work.
There is no doubt the vaccine mandate will demand some of the most ethically challenging conversations teachers from both vaccination camps will have in their professional careers.
However, that’s no reason to shy away from collegial awkwardness. One of New Zealand’s pre-eminent educational thinkers, the late Ivan Snook, believed teaching is an innately ethical activity as it involves close personal relationships, not least between colleagues.
Snook also provides us with some wise guidance on how we might go about these challenging discussions. He addresses the fundamental tension teachers face when trying to persuade others to take a on a point of view they believe is demonstrably rational.
Snook frames this tension as the “conflicting obligations to respect the learner’s state of mind and also move her towards a more adequate understanding and a more enlightened practice”.
An ethic of care
As colleagues in discussion with those who disagree with us on the vaccine mandate, we must be ready to respect the ethical integrity of alternative viewpoints, while providing rational alternatives based on reputable scientific evidence.
Nor should we decry those who distrust authority. As Snook argues, a major task of educators is to help others come to understand the importance, and limitations, of all authorities.
It is my hope that over the next few months we will see the code truly become “our code” as it guides vaccinated and unvaccinated teachers to have these respectful conversations about what it is to be a critically reflective, ethical teacher in a society in the grip of a global pandemic.
But if the code is to guide teachers through these difficult conversations it needs to be used with care. If it’s simply a weapon of entrenched positions there is nothing to be gained.
Educational philosopher Nel Noddings said conversations of this complexity need to happen within an “ethic of care” that is sensitive to the relationships in which we must all continue to live.
In the spirit of whanaungatanga, I encourage my vaccinated and unvaccinated colleagues to be courageous and use the code to discuss the vaccine mandate within such an ethic of care.
Let us decide together what that is, and what it means to be an ethical teacher in Aotearoa New Zealand in this watershed moment for our profession.
*Paul Heyward is Head of Initial Teacher Education, University of Auckland. Disclosure statement: I have publicly commented on the development and implementation of the Teaching Council Document ‘Our Codes, Our Standards’ in the media.
The principal of a New Plymouth school which has lost three staff members in a horror crash in Horowhenua says the community is reeling at the news.
Photo: RNZ / Claire Eastham-Farrelly
Four people died when a truck and another vehicle collided at Kuku on State Highway 1 just after 3pm Tuesday.
Devon Intermediate principal Jenny Gellen said the school’s caretaker, a teacher aide and a classroom teacher had died in the accident.
“Staff and students and the wider Devon whānau are absolutely shocked.”
Gellen said the three staff members were integral parts of the school community.
“They’re just extremely valued and important members of staff who are going to be really sadly missed by not only at the school community but the whānau, extended whanau and our school community.”
Gellen said the school was getting support from the Ministry of Education trauma team and would stay open today.
“Absolutely we are. We are a community school and it’s an awesome place to actually have our kids supported and our whānau supported at the school.
“This is the kids’ normal and it’s about the kids and the whānau and if we close the children have nowhere to express [their feelings] other than their families – which are really important — but we’re keeping the school open.”
Gellen said the wider Taranaki community had been generous in their support.
“We’ve been inundated with messages and letters of support so just a huge thank you at this really difficult time for the school.”
New Plymouth Principals’ Association co-chair Brigitte Luke said the whole education community was affected by the deaths.
“We’re shocked and deeply saddened and our thoughts go out to the respective whānau at such a tragic time and obviously the school that’s dealing with this.”
She said the impact at Devon Intermediate would be immense.
“Well it’s huge … because it is the sudden loss of three staff members within a school setting in terms of the children, the staff and the wider … it’ll be huge.
“The priority will be ensuring the safety and well being of all mentally and emotionally and spiritually at this point of time.”
Police earlier confirmed the four deaths, and said officers had contacted next of kin.
Officers investigating the crash want to hear from any witnesses, and in particular from anyone on the road at the time who may have dashcam footage.
Central District road policing manager Inspector Ashley Gurney was at the site on Tuesday and described it as a complex and challenging scene.
State Highway 1 was closed in both directions for several hours after the crash.
Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden said the stretch of State Highway 1 between Levin and Ōtaki was a risky and dangerous road that had been the site of numerous accidents.
He said the section of road combined open stretches with bends and bridges that catch drivers out.
Waka Kotahi said it had has planned a number of safety improvements for the stretch of SH1, including wide centre lines, stretches of side barriers and a review of speeds.
Work was scheduled to begin on this in mid-2022, but the transport agency was looking at bringing that forward.
There have been 147 new cases of Covid-19 reported in the community today – including 14 in Waikato – with another death of someone with Covid-19 who was isolating at home.
Photo: AFP
The Ministry of Health said 63 of today’s cases are yet to be linked. The suburbs of interest in Auckland are Ranui, Sunnyvale, Kelston, Birkdale, Manurewa and Māngere.
At today’s Covid-19 briefing, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield reported the sudden death of a man in his 60s who had Covid-19 and was isolating at a home in Glen Eden.
“The cause of his death will be determined by the coroner, including whether it may have been Covid-19 related.
“This is a sad reminder that Covid-19 is potentially very serious – and fatal – if you’re not vaccinated.”
He said any Covid-19 deaths would be looked into fully, whether they happened in a hospital or at home.
“We’re looking back at each of these deaths to see what was the level of interaction, exactly what happened in those cases, was there any problem with the clinical assessment and also the clinical handover – there’s nothing to suggest so yet and the third one which came in overnight, we don’t have detail on but we’ll look at any opportunity to improve both the initial assessment and the allocation of someone, but also how the system is working.”
He said pulse oximeters were also being used to monitor those who might need more help “because some people can deteriorate quite quickly even if they have a history of being well”.
Of the 14 new cases in Waikato being reported today, 10 are from Ôtorohanga – including six people in one household who are known contacts – three from Hamilton and one from Ngâruawâhia.
There were also two new cases to report in Northland, both in the same household in Dargaville, with links to known cases.
“One of the cases is a child, which highlights the importance of getting vaccinated to protect our tamariki who aren’t yet eligible to get the vaccine. The more of us who are vaccinated in our community, the greater our immunity.”
There are 81 people with Covid-19 in hospital, including 11 in intensive care.
Dr Bloomfield said there were more than 1700 hospital beds across Auckland and more than 100 ICU beds.
“Hospitals in Auckland will have and do have capacity – so anyone who needs care for any reason, do not delay in seeking it. The hospitals are safe.”
There were also two cases reported in managed isolation today.
There have been 4813 cases in the current community outbreak and 7561 since the pandemic began. The seven-day rolling average of community cases is 154.
There were 22,178 Covid-19 vaccine doses given yesterday, made up of 5,103 first doses and 16,089 second doses. The Ministry said 89 percent of New Zealanders aged over 12 years have had their first dose and 79 percent are fully vaccinated.
On Tuesday there were 125 new community cases, and of those 117 were in Auckland, two were in Waikato and six in Northland.
Dr Bloomfield also said today the Ministry was changing the way Covid-19 deaths would be reported.
“The clinical criteria will continue to be guided by WHO definition which is basically to report any death where the person had an acute Covid-19 infection regardless of what the cause of death might be.
“We will be now publicly reporting confirmed deaths as those where the death documents or an investigation has shown that the cause was Covid-19 and we will report other deaths where the cause of death is not certain but the person has Covid-19. We will report them separately, and the latter group will be classified as ‘under investigation’ while we await further information from clinicians or a coroner’s follow up.”
