BEVS

Agreed. Absolutely nothing . Zilch. Nada.
No quality suggestions. No support in any way for the populace . Nothing . Just non-stop braying negative adversarial criticism about anything and everything which helps nothing and no-one. That would be a farce if it wasn't so flaming well damaging and dangerous.
Mind you if some of them had had their way we would have got to this point a whole lot sooner and been less prepared on many fronts , so thank what blessings there are in all of this.
None of us needs political posturing and competition right now. We just need everyone to pull together and be giving the same message. Restrict movement. Get vaxxed. Track and trace. As I wrote many many months ago, the world has changed and our lives have changed with that.

I am not at all sure what you exactly mean with this tbh. Have you been against the restriction of movement to try to contain what remains a killer virus so the populace remained as safe as it could be for as long as it could be? Or perhaps against wanting people around you to vax to help keep you and your safe? I don't see "freedoms" being taken at all. I see life and health risks to everyone first and foremost. I see life being curtailed because of this virus, nothing else . You don't?

For me the only mistake to date was bowing to pressure to reopen to Oz, because of the business & private sector howls, instead of waiting for year end. All those people that have been baying for opening borders should now really honestly look at themselves with some shame as it is that which has brought the current delta outbreak to this country & which will now cause delays , restrictions and assorted lockdowns. Utterly and completely down to that. Those people, quite frankly , make me sick. There are no pockets in shrouds. Health is everything for everyone.

Bo-Jangles

People can bitch and moan all they like about the lockdowns but who really wants COVID in their backyard if they can avoid it; our big advantage and now seemingly considered a disadvantage was in having the ability to completely close our border, knowing nothing much was ever going to change until we had a substantial number of folks vaccinated - this was a given and we knew that over a year ago, we're still way less f####d than others were at this time last year.

We are incredibly lucky that the border strategy lasted as long as it did, or we would have been in a way worse situation than now. Had the shit not hit the an in Aussie a few weeks before Delta got here in mid-August we would have continued on the same vaccine roll-out path that would have seen at best most vaccinated by December. At least now we do have considerably more people (including me) vaccinated than were originally planned at this point.

chocolate cake

While you might disagree with it, National did provide some plans, broadly along NSW Australia's opening up plans, in the week immediately before the PM's famous roadmap. It did include get vaxxed!
Again no clarity at today's roadmap update, Auckland's not ready to move to Lockdown Level 3, Stage 2, but not at all clear what it needs to do move to it. We just await the PM's weekly update, and cross fingers that it's enough, and in the meantime pat ourselves on the back that we're now above the US and Germany in first dose vaccine rollout, and enjoy our picnics.

There's no doubt that the PM handled the CV19 lockdown well last year and got us in to a good place, but there was also a fair element of good luck in reaching there. For all the 'go hard n go early' we were slow to close our borders, even the US closed the borders to China, Italy and Iran well before NZ did, and being isolated at the bottom of the world helped big time.

I'm sorry if that makes you feel sick. To say the pressure to open the borders to Australia imported Delta is not truely accurate, the imported case I believe was traced to someone from NSW but through MIQ hotel, so would have happened anyway. The big mistake this year was wasting our opportunity, and going soft and late with the vaccine rollout. Slower even than Australia.
That's why we're locked down now (at least in Auckland and temporarily Waikato and Northland), had we had the vaccine earlier, started the world leading roll out earlier, we wouldn't be locked down in Auckland in Level 3 now, looking at November at best to be in Level 2, and December at best when we'll be able to escape the Auckland border (unless we're a essential worker having taken a swab up the nose in the last week, a crim, a drug dealer, a gang member or sex worker ).

We've admitted Delta is 'tricky', and not going to reach zero cases, it's a pity Super Saturday October 16th, wasn't instead late August or early September, or even sometime before.

We're not going to be able to live in hermit kingdom. Good to see vaccine is being mandated for teachers and healthworkers, but what about some push to allow private businesses to open safely, and learn from overseas.
Carrot n stick, at the moment no carrots for the majority that are fully double vaccinated in Auckland.
Ireland hardily a success case early, but now almost totally open, with pubs since July requiring either proof of vaccine or recovered from covid in last 180 days pubs open in Ireland after almost 500 days

Charismatic

While I'd love to see everyone vaccinated I certainly see the situation in more multifaceted terms. In my view human needs don't stop at physiological safety and it's just one part of a much larger picture for society.

Early on in the pandemic most focus was on ensuring physiological safety while high-risk groups where vaccinated. However in this next phase we can now focus much move to ensuring peoples other needs are met and that means progressively curtailing lockdowns and social distancing measures while probably tolerating far higher case numbers and spread as they will cause fewer deaths with the vaccine rollout effectively concluding in the next few weeks.

I'm acutely aware of the limitations of the system we have in place that prevents access to friends, family, intimacy people require among many other things we require for a healthy and functional society.
We'd a very good innings I'd say. I supported the governments measures at the time and would do so again in a future pandemic. We where always likely to eventually get Covid-19 as endemic in New Zealand. We may lament the "would have been nice to..." things like rolling the vaccine across all groups while controlling spread or scaling MIQ to stop it bottlenecking travel but largely the success was getting those older and immunologically compromised groups vaccinated. Although difficult that did save a lot of lives. I'm actually looking forward to what will come next as well, although Covid-19 will become endemic I think people will soon come to accept it as a background risk again like many other endemic viruses.

The immense strides made with RNA vaccines alone will be important as well. I believe there are RNA vaccines being trialled for several diseases, including maleria and HIV, so potentially Covid-19 may not end up being a net loss for humanity. Science that won't just save today but tomorrow as well.

Bo-Jangles

The matter of obtaining vaccines was also not entirely in our hands, when the demand from the the rest of the world who were wading chest high in the shit at the early part of the year, little old NZ was not a priority and most here were happy to sit and wait whilst the need was greater elsewhere. Pfizer recently rebutted John Key's claim and have said that there was not a chance and no amount of money would have got us vaccines any earlier.

Clappy

500 Days!

I am not going to complain about how things have been handled here despite the current hiccough.

BEVS

Quite. To be clear here . It is the posts that are quite honestly little more than non-stop moaning-minnie, whingeing, political sniping because of which political party is in power and which person is PM that gets my goat. For goodness sake. Some people really need to get a grip and look at where we actually are & how Nz has come through the last 18/24 months ; as opposed to what has happened to the people of other countries ; & then go pour some concrete in their gumboots & find some grown up pants to don.
If you see someone struggling then go and help/support them . It is not forever & will get better. Death on the other hand is forever.

Looking at some of the posts on here it might be more fitting to call this the ' Anti Labour Party and J Adearn ' thread. Not the 'Pull together, support & encourage against covid19' thread.

Quite.

You are having a laugh. NSW? Give me and those that wish to stay healthy a break.
Really? You sound exactly just like her.

chocolate cake

I didn't mention John Key's claim, the delays and mistakes with slow vaccine rollout were made before then.

Sure, NSW made some mistakes in getting to high level of cases, hindsight is great, however two months ago they set themselves targets and dates for reaching 70% double jabbed and what would happen, and look almost certain to reach next week's target too, 80% double vaxxed and further restriction release.

I presuming you're not in Auckland?? and with things almost normal and able to fraternize businesses that here aren't going to be opening in the foreseeable, and have been given no indication in the two roadmap podiums what needs to happen for climb down in restrictions.
Carrot n Sticks

Really? I thought you wanted to take politics out of it??
I mentioned a plan, because at least they had a plan with targets and dates. Not saying I agreed with it, building MIQ centres outside Auckland for instance, that horse has long bolted, by the time any would get built we shouldn't be needing any MIQ.

If something's not working, I'm not sure we should be blindly supporting it.
If you're outside Auckland, it's easy to comment n say, 'let's have more Level 4', 'another two weeks of level 3', etc. it was clear these weren't working, and the team in Wellington are I think losing touch with Auckland.

It needs more than a few picnics, people n business need to understand have a proper roadmap, with some roads and targets, not some woolly visions.

Not exactly thrilled by today's vaxathon, but let's hope some are and at least it's a start, though sorry to bring politics back into it but John Key did suggest this back in August!
It doesn't though answer business's needs which have been swerved at most podium sessions.

Bo-Jangles

We can all play along now ..

This Is A COVID-19 Announcement

Tēnā koe and congratulations!
You are now the Prime Minister of Aotearoa New Zealand.
You are responsible with leading us through the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Will you choose freedom or tyranny?
Will you choose to let people live or die?
Will you choose to give people what they want?
It's all up to you find out what it's like to be in charge.

Tom H

Back in January this year before the Trans Tasman bubble opened, we were extremely fortunate to avoid a variant of Covid severely hitting the capital. I remember it well, I was in Wellington at the time and had the notification since I was in the Te Papa museum that day.

Looking back, that should have been the warning that we need to up our rollout when the time arrived. That should have kicked off the vaccine training with the medics, the orders etc and getting the trucks ready to take vaccinations to care homes etc. Unfortunately, it was overlooked probably because we luckily avoided the outbreak. I think it was the South African variant

Charismatic

Right, so, as I make out we needed about 210k more people to get from 85% (vaccinated + booked) to 90%.

39k first doses today which only leaves us 171k to get to that government target. We've been averaging about 17k first doses per day (which is great, we weren't even doing half a couple of weeks ago) so we should be on track to get there by the end of the month.

This is good because it gives people enough time to be fully vaccinated before Christmas and reopen internal/external borders (at this point I don't think there is a lot of difference except external tourism will probably be much safer because they'll have had the testing done and been self isolating.)

Bo-Jangles

Yesterday was fantastic, the sunshine and party vibe, including dancing with Daddy Bloomfield was epic and just what was needed. I am hoping there might be enough residual FOMO and buzzy feeling around the country to encourage a few more to turn out today.

Charismatic

And...back to 6k first doses again today. The effect was very temporary.

One thing I'm a little worried about is that immunity will wane so people will not get the full vaccine benefit upon reopening (should such an event ever take place) and that we may be heading into autumn doing it.

chocolate cake

Yeah, more disappointment at today's late afternoon podium performance. The usual lockdown lovies out in advance calling for 'short (!) level 4 circuit breaker', 'quick (!) blast of level 4' so that we're meant to relieved that we stay in Level 3 Stage 1 for minimum of another couple of weeks.

I think they would truly have been some anarchy and street demonstrations in Auckland with a pointless return to Level 4, like in Melbourne. The elimination ship has sailed.

So we've another 4 days to wait n see. It's worrying that any target will be set very high.

We sit going into 10th week of lockdown on Wednesday, with 70% double jabbed in Auckland, and single vaxxed high 80's and the reason the double vaxxed isn't in the 80's is of course because of our slow roll out in the first place (one that saw Michael Baker, public health expert picking up his 2nd jab only at the weekend!) . The double vaxxed and businesses do need to start receiving some privileges, instead waiting for laggards to catch up.

After the weekends vaxathon and take up with free ice creams and sausage sizzles, we need to set a fixed date, say we go level 2 on 1st December (that will still be over 100 days in Lockdown 5 ) come what may. Those that aren't vaxxed can take their chances - as the PM says the delta will seek them out.

We can't be waiting for these kind Murapara doesn't want Pfizer 16% double vaccinated, 32% has single dose. Hopefully our vaccination experts are equally as disgusted as they are with the Coromandel Mayor.

Justcol

Everyone's had plenty of time now.
Lift the lockdowns and let them die.