Daily review 05/11/2021

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, November 5th, 2021 - 51 comments
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Daily review is also your post.

This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

51 comments on “Daily review 05/11/2021 ”

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  2. SPC 2
    5 November 2021 at 6:16 pm

    Yet another example (earlier diabetes 2 drug now funded – for up to 1/3rd of the people who need it) of Pharmac not providing a drug because of the cost to it – when not funding it means much greater cost falls on the HB's and the limited resources of our hospitals.

    This time CF.

    Another demonstration that the system lacks the means for an intelligent direction to provision of health care.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/126898156/these-lives-cant-wait-new-zealand-needs-to-fund-this-drug-now

    Given the current Minister's failure to get health staff in through MI in the past year, there is clearly a need for the Ministry to create a fund and appoint an administrator with responsibility to invest money to fund drugs where doing so saves the health system money downstream (separate to current Pharmac funding).

  3. Patricia Bremner 3
    5 November 2021 at 6:19 pm

    Thinking of Gisborne. More rain to come, keep safe. Slips are dangerous and scary.

  4. weka 4
    5 November 2021 at 6:21 pm

    By the end of the week all three Auckland DHBs looked as though they would hit the double dose target by the end of the month.

    If they do, Auckland can move out of lockdown without waiting for the rest of the country to catch up.

    Outside Auckland, Capital and Coast, Canterbury and Southern were past 90 per cent for first doses.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/455040/week-in-politics-more-freedom-more-covid-experts-worry-about-easing-auckland-s-restrictions

    can someone please explain what the second paragraph means in regards to regional travel?

    • Cricklewood 4.1
      5 November 2021 at 7:12 pm

      It means we open up under the traffic light system but the border remains until other dhbs catch up. I doubt that we'll be in traffic lights at the end of the month looking here https://covid19.govt.nz/alert-levels-and-updates/covid-19-data-and-statistics/covid-19-vaccination-rates-around-new-zealand/ Auckland still needs 1975 first doses in Counties Manakau.

      If they get there this weekend it would need every single person to return in 3 weeks for a second dose to make the lights early december.

      We might get to 90 double dosed in the second week of December across all three Auckland dhbs but given between 2 and 5 percent dont have a second it could be longer.

      Whats more likely is Covid takes hold in the regions at govt either adds additional borders or removes all the borders.

      Wastewater testing is showing more positive results this evening, I suspect political expedience will see the boundries disappear before Xmas on the grounds that Covid has spread anyway.

      • weka 4.1.1
        5 November 2021 at 7:18 pm

        Ta.

        It hasn't spread to the South Island, so I guess we're waiting to see if the government will facilitate the spread of delta here 😳

    • Treetop 4.2
      5 November 2021 at 7:21 pm

      I have been thinking about the DHBs using a 90% threshold being double vaccinated for the country to go to the traffic light system.

      When I look at the context of Covid being detected in the waste water of 3 new regions today, Strafford, Gisbourne and Napier it is now a case of going through the motions.

      The government need to advise the country what the position is. Just yesterday a homeless person asked me in a level 2 zone what level we were at? I answered their question and I briefly said there are 3 steps and a traffic light system as well.

      I even need to go and re look up the 3 steps and the traffic light system.

      • Treetop 4.2.1
        5 November 2021 at 7:34 pm

        Spelling corrections Stratford, Gisborne.

      • weka 4.2.2
        5 November 2021 at 7:34 pm

        I've barely kept up with the news today. Are they going to loosen up Auckland but keep the border control on?

        • Treetop 4.2.2.1
          5 November 2021 at 7:40 pm

          Your guess is as good as mine. I feel like everything is pulling apart that the government have put in place.

          • weka 4.2.2.1.1
            5 November 2021 at 7:45 pm

            It's a tense time. I've got so much shit going in my own life that I'm having to deal with, I'm not keeping up with it. I have the privilege of not having covid in my face because of where I live. I suspect there are a lot of people in that situation.

          • Cricklewood 4.2.2.1.2
            5 November 2021 at 7:53 pm

            Well yeah, The tension in Auckland has made political pulses race so the strategy is changing, advice is now viewed through a political lens whereas before it was almost entirely a health focus.

            How much risk is palatable compared to vote loss in Auckland has become a metric in a health crisis. I just cant see the Auckland border holding come xmas.

            There is alot to go wrong two Deaths in home isolation in 2 days is a little worrying. I wonder what they're sent home with to self monitor pulse oxy meters? Panic button? Details are scarce at this point.

            Reality is NZ will have our turn with Delta it will be shitty, Winter 22 is I suspect going to be when things are at there worst.

            • Treetop 4.2.2.1.2.1
              5 November 2021 at 8:15 pm

              The last place you want to be dependent on is the health system during a pandemic. The health system is going to be tested like it has never ever been tested.

              I had a tradie here today and they said they do not need to wear a mask. 2 tradies need to do a fair bit of work in the next month, electrical and sound proofing 4 walls.

              I will be ok at 8.75 current stress level.

              • Cricklewood …
                5 November 2021 at 8:25 pm

                Yep, where my wife works it looks like they will lose close to 15 staff once the mandate begins in a week or so. Some frontline others in more administrative positions and a few in relief roles that will place enormous stress on the rest as there will be no cover or replacements availble without taking from somewhere else in the health system.

                Its not like we have excess staff ready to fill the gaps.

                That will hurt patients and staff and is another reason why I dont support mandates, correct ppe and rapid testing are a good options. We are going to need every damn health worker we can get.

              • Kirk-RS …
                6 November 2021 at 8:31 am

                I had a tradie here today and they said they do not need to wear a mask.

                @Treetop – are you in Alert Level 2 or 3?

                Actually, now that I have spent some time on the COVID-19 website, I do not actually think it much matters what level you are in, at least in this non-retail business situation.

                MinHealth advises wearing masks whenever possible at work.

                In general, face coverings should be worn whenever you can. The Delta variant is more transmissible by droplets, so face coverings are a way we can protect ourselves and each other.

                If you are around people you do not know, it is a good idea to wear a face covering.

                However, on the same webpage there is this:

                • Encourage workers and customers to wear a face covering when entering the premises.
                • Businesses and workers do not need to enforce the use of face coverings.

                …

                • Be kind and respectful of privacy when approaching a customer who is not wearing a face covering. While it is not always obvious why a face covering is unsuitable, it is inappropriate to enquire about someone's disability or condition.
                • If someone refuses to wear a face covering, you do not need to take any further action.

                Meanwhile, the Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment (thoughfully linked from the COVID website) has the following:

                Consider asking your worker to apply for an exemption card they can show customers or provide other ways to communicate to customers why your worker is not able to wear a face covering. …

                There is no exemption to face covering requirements for personal reasons. In such situations, businesses should work with their staff in good faith to resolve the situation and explore alternatives.

                The MoBIE refers you to its guidelines for resolving disputes, found on its Employment NZ website. Plenty of pleasant-sounding generic language that might well be useful for dispute resolution in normal times, but notably there is not a single mention of the pandemic.

                Honestly, this is a process only lifer bureaucrats could comfortably embrace! It leads everywhere … and therefore goes nowhere.

                In this situation, the tradies have technically every right to say they don´t have to wear masks or do much of anything else, as long as there are no customers in a retail setting or anyone in a collective setting like schools. Then the situation gets clearer and the rules get more precise and tougher.

                The best bet is to recruit a fellow tradie or someone else regularly on-site to raise a concern. Then there might be cause for at least consulting together, with a prospect of taking some kind of suitable resolution.

                At the very least, offer consultation with the tradie and anyone else present besides yourself. It can´t do any harm, and some progress might be made at least in human relationships if nothing else.

                If it´s just the two of you, or tradies vs. contractor, consider calling upon mediation services, either in the MoBIE or the Dispute Resolution Centre

                It is all the gray areas in business and government revealed by the pandemic particularly during the Delta outbreak that make things feel increasingly political rather than health-based, and give the impression that things are increasingly falling apart at the seams.

                But there may be a silver lining in this dark cloud. If citizens cannot rely on government regulations to resolve all issues, then it is time for some positive independent initiative based on sound principles, supported by whatever mediation resources are available and able to function during higher pandemic Alert levels.

                Relying on rules created solely by authorities is what children do (and must). Now that humanity is growing up, entering its collective adolescence, rules by themselves are not and should not be enough. People need to engage with one another as positively and collectively as possible, but this is a matter of choice, not coercion. Any teenager will tell you that, and show you how they have the means to resist attempts to boss them.

                So it has turned out to be in the pandemic, even amongst the Team of Five Million.

                The sound principles of spiritual virtue and consultation that guide me in such situations are found in my religion, the Baha´i Faith (global / Aotearoa-NZ)

                • Treetop …
                  6 November 2021 at 9:28 am

                  Thank you for your comment. I have only skimmed through it and will read it later in the day. Looks like mask wearing needs to be simplified. As well working in warm weather wearing a mask can be uncomfortable and crawling into spaces as well and some jobs require a work mask.

                  I am in level 2. I put on a material face mask to protect myself. I do not ask vaccination status.

                  A previous quote a month ago the company rang me for a health screen. I asked if the person coming about the quote would be wearing a mask? Yes was the response, they turned up not wearing a mask. An electrician called yesterday to do another quote for the same job. The landlord organises the tradie and the tenant needs to provide the access.

            • Anne 4.2.2.1.2.2
              5 November 2021 at 8:57 pm

              … two Deaths in home isolation in 2 days is a little worrying. I wonder what they're sent home with to self monitor pulse oxy meters? Panic button? Details are scarce at this point.

              My understanding, it has been confirmed the first death was not related to Covid but details have not been released yet presumably because the coroner is still investigating.

              The second death… the patient discharged himself from hospital on the 3rd Nov. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but when a patient chooses to discharge themselves the hospital staff cannot stop them from leaving.

              • Cricklewood …
                5 November 2021 at 9:37 pm

                Putting him in MIQ might have been a good idea…

                Only thing I saw on the first death was not related to Covid vaccine.

              • Treetop …
                5 November 2021 at 9:51 pm

                The coroner's office is where the two home isolation deaths are going to end up. I just hope the right systems/procedures are in place to answer all questions so the families have closure.

                Every aspect of the two cases to date will be scrutinised by the opposition.

            • mauī 4.2.2.1.2.3
              5 November 2021 at 9:59 pm

              I'm assuming patients are sent home with some face masks and an injection they should have had 6 months ago. A pity about the lack of treatment options.. its only the biggest health crisis in a century.

        • Craig H 4.2.2.2
          5 November 2021 at 8:36 pm

          I think there is still a bit of discussion on it at the cabinet level, but also that they intend to allow people in and out of Auckland for Christmas. Whether that's vaccinated travellers only depends on whether they can figure out a system to check private cars. Either way, I expect domestic flights, the ferries, trains and intercity buses to require vaccination to try to minimise spread to the South Island.

          • Treetop 4.2.2.2.1
            5 November 2021 at 8:41 pm

            I get it that people want certainty. No matter what the government says, it can be changed in order to manage the Covid pandemic where necessary.

          • Cricklewood 4.2.2.2.2
            5 November 2021 at 8:48 pm

            I really think they need to be clear on leaving Auckland and soon.

            Last Christmas eve over 40000 cars left Auckland to check each and every passenger within will take a minute or so that runs out to at least 11 hours add traffic dynamics and inevitable attempts to slip through its just not feasible to manage. Its going to be an open or closed scenario anyting else will lead to absolute chaos.

            • Kirk-RS 4.2.2.2.2.1
              6 November 2021 at 8:53 am

              @Cricklewood – I thing you are absolutely right about the chaos.

              However, the absolutes (all open, all closed) are the least desirable from a collective point of view. There are significant portions of the population who embrace one but reject the other.

              That will produce its own form of chaos — not so much a physical traffic jam, as one of disunity and political infighting so toxic to the positive qualities of the Team of Five Million.

              There just don´t seem to be any clear pathways out of this Christmas Crush, no matter what form it takes.

              Perhaps it would be best to go all-in with the vaccine certification programme. Make it as digital as possible, skip the physical border with all the delays, and make it very difficult for people to go anywhere other than private homes without a certificate.

              This is hardly perfect, but it does offer substantial means of reducing public exposures. The vaccines can absorb the pressure of private gatherings. The unvaccinated will be limited to how they get around.

              I do wonder about the new traffic light system´s essential retail loophole, where certificates will not be required in places like groceries, chemist shops, etc. Why not close this loophole, with the unvaccinated applying for essential relief or other supports from Government?

              Really, all it would take is a corps of vaccinated designated shoppers and delivery people, subsidised by Government for the unvaccinated in financial need. Other unvaccinated people would pay for the services.

              Given the lockdown requirements of the past, this does not seem too onerous a price to pay for closing off one of the few remaining options for legitimate superspreader events.

          • weka 4.2.2.2.3
            5 November 2021 at 9:15 pm

            it just seems fucking mad to allow delta into the rest of the country over Christmas.

            • Cricklewood 4.2.2.2.3.1
              5 November 2021 at 9:21 pm

              That Covid for Christmas line isn't so funny now…

              Auckland relaxes next week schools are open… the govt lets double vaxxed parents out for xmas with their unvaccinated kids who are potentially infected but asymptomatic. They spread it to other kids and then to parents etc etc and Covid is everywhere…

              • Kirk-RS …
                6 November 2021 at 9:08 am

                @Cricklewood – Yes, that sounds about right, and it would be a very sad outcome for the bright hopes of elimination that Aotearoa/NZ once offered itself and the world.

                But there may be another possible scenario, if Government grasps it right away and the people respond very quickly.

                The scenario: Go ahead and vaccinate age 5-11 with a half dose of Pfizer BioNTech.

                Justifications:

                1. The USA has an emergency use authorisation (EUA) for doing so, and is just now rolling it out.

                2. Vienna, Austria has just announced it will vaccinate children 5 and up without waiting for the European Union´s European Medicines Agency (EMA), which appears to be willing to take long months to decide about this even as cases amongst children spike in the EU.

                I know that this likely cuts against the grain of Government´s obeisance to medical bureaucracy, which in normal times is usually a good thing, but obviously these are not normal times, and the likely scenario you outline seems all but unavoidable.

                Only flexibility, imagination, and – yes – some risk-taking will give Aotearoa/NZ a chance to avoid widescale spread of COVID throughout the entire motu.

                It will be a real test of the nation´s true level of maturity in the face of increasingly bad news, without the security blanket afforded by the now-defunct elimination strategy.

            • Treetop 4.2.2.2.3.2
              5 November 2021 at 9:41 pm

              Auckland is at a different stage regarding Covid to tbe rest of the country; with the Waikato catching up to Auckland.

              The rest of the country will need to adapt as there is no hiding from Delta. It is about not overwhelming the health resources and minimising tension.

              I think Prof Baker knew that the levels, steps and traffic lights were going to be problematic. Everything is problematic schools opening, f – ing Christmas (cancel it this year), the health workers will not be on holiday.

              • Cricklewood …
                5 November 2021 at 9:52 pm

                Yep no avoiding it, I really think the govt should he clear on that, all we can do is harm minimization flatten the curve… Looking at Europe Covid seems to have season peaks we need to be well prepared for next winter inevitably our first and second waves will be extremely difficult.

                • Treetop …
                  5 November 2021 at 10:12 pm

                  Yes, flattening the curve and minimising harm. Those who do this are the people who will make a difference.

              • weka …
                5 November 2021 at 10:03 pm

                timing though.

                Don't know how the SDHB compares to the rest of the country, but it's been in a mess for years. Also a big spread geographically and lots of people living a long way from a hospital.

                • Cricklewood …
                  5 November 2021 at 10:09 pm

                  We're actually lucky in NZ with our geograhical spread and low density,it will help slow the spread the UK have just issued public health guidance to open windows etc to improve ventilation especially when gathering indoors.

                  Our drafty homes might actually help us for a change 🙃

                • Treetop …
                  5 November 2021 at 10:22 pm

                  From bowel screening delays to inadequate delivery services for babies and having to travel to Christchurch for cancer teatment is what I have read.

      • mac1 4.2.3
        5 November 2021 at 10:34 pm

        "Going through the motions? Going through the motions? Going through the motions?"

  5. Johnr 5
    5 November 2021 at 6:22 pm

    Just had an interesting conversation with my recently retired sister in law and her husband. I've been retired for some years and realise that you actually have to condition yourself for the transition tween work and retirement. Let me say retirement is to be emphatically recommended.

    So, here are my three rules for a contented retirement.

    1. If you wake up in the morning and need to turn the light on, it's far too early, go back to sleep. We spend our lives going to work in the dark, and getting home in the dark. Get in touch with the natural flow of nature.

    2. When you wake up, ask yourself. What do I have to do today, that I can't put off till tomorrow. My experience says that come tomorrow you may well decide that you didnt need to do it at all.

    3. Now the good bit, as you lounge in bed, ask yourself. What do I want to do today.

    Travel well people.

    • weka 5.1
      5 November 2021 at 6:23 pm

      Excellent advice

    • Patricia Bremner 5.2
      5 November 2021 at 6:54 pm

      We had that conversation 20 years ago Johnr. N was going to work until 65. I retired at 60 with a small but excellent teacher pension. Within 3 months he joined me. I was well happy doing all my interests and planning a break for us. He was overseeing huge changes in his work place. So instead of a fortnights break, it became three months where we planned our 5 year motorhome trip and explore round NZ and let our unit out to a lovely couple. We have never regretted that decision. When we finally got the pension we were "rich' relatively, after 5 years of "smell of an oily rag". but a great deal of active golf swimming fishing walking and visiting friends and family without putting them to any trouble. It has gone so quickly. I love the "turn over and go back to sleep." Funny thing is, we are much quicker to rise have a cuppa and watch the sunrise. Perverse I know.

    • Gezza 5.3
      5 November 2021 at 7:13 pm

      My analysis, based on MY lived experience (but I live alone):

      “1. If you wake up in the morning and need to turn the light on, it’s far too early, go back to sleep. We spend our lives going to work in the dark, and getting home in the dark. Get in touch with the natural flow of nature.”

      G: If you wake up in the morning & need to turn the light on, do need to pee? No? Can you go back to sleep? No. Wide awake. Turn on the tv, watch Al Jazeera News, find out what’s happening elsewhere in the world; our msm tv channels serve us up Covid Covid Covid, big events in NZ, & oodles of parochial claptrap & fluff – they leave us ignorant about what’s going on elsewhere on the globe.

      Still wide awake? Get up, have a coffee & open the kitchen window or go outside & check out the sky & the weather, & listen for the first birdsong to herald the dawn chorus – starts about 5 am around my stream. Sing out to blackie, my young resident male blackbird, to let him know breakfast awaits when it gets light enuf for him to see it.

      Still wide awake? Yes, invariably – go to step 2.

      “2. When you wake up, ask yourself. What do I have to do today, that I can’t put off till tomorrow. My experience says that come tomorrow you may well decide that you didnt need to do it at all.”

      G: Make a list of anything you have to do (or really should do) today in your phone’s Notes App. Otherwise, you’re a lazy buggar & a dreamer and you won’t get needed stuff done until something breaks or goes wrong in the middle of the night needing a tradie you can’t get for an urgent job you could have prevented.

      If there’s NOTHING you have to do today, pat yourself on the back & give yourself a day off. Kick back, put your feet up, have as much or as little fun as you need in your life right now doing only what you really enjoy. These days that often includes my reading this blog for the intelligent, thought-provoking comments of the day. Great for the grey matter. Contribute too, if you feel you have something worth saying, or asking. Learn new stuff constantly.

      Tired from not enuf sleep last nite? Lock the doors, have a grandpa nap. They can work wonders for your equilibrium.

      “3. Now the good bit, as you lounge in bed, ask yourself. What do I want to do today.”

      G: 🤔 Fark. Already done it. 😀 I love it when I’m ahead of the game. Doesn’t happen often, so just enjoy that feeling with another coffee. ☕️

      My rules for a contented retirement? Do whatever feels right for YOU. If it works out, just carry on doing that. If it doesn’t, try something different. 😎☘🐧

  6. Pete 6
    5 November 2021 at 6:24 pm

    A man in his 50s with Covid isolating at home in Mt Eden died on Friday morning.

    His friend Stewart Borland was “critical of that decision, and said he believed he should never have been allowed to isolate at home.

    “I don’t think it’s safe for people to isolate at home, and regardless of the fact he chose to leave hospital, he shouldn't have been allowed to go home."

    That will be sad for his family and friends. It is an example of freedom though which rallies have been about in recent weeks.

    It also is an example of isolating at home rather than being in MIQ which have been prominent calls.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300446920/covid19-friend-of-second-man-who-died-says-he-shouldnt-have-been-isolating-at-home

    • Patricia Bremner 6.1
      5 November 2021 at 7:06 pm

      Sadly he discharged himself according to the news.. He needed more help to make a safer decision. Let us hope his demise stirs a few to be more supportive and give better advice. He apparently left without the necessary equipment to monitor his breathing. A very sad case.

  7. observer 7
    5 November 2021 at 6:52 pm

    Sadly some on here still don't want to know about so-called "Voices For Freedom", who organise the anti-vax protests, even though the information is widely reported. I can't force anybody to want to know (though wilful ignorance is a disturbing attitude in a pandemic).

    But there is news about them every day, and here is today's:

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300446109/demand-at-vaccine-exemption-event-horrifying-says-host

    “a group selling what they claimed were vaccine exemptions to individuals for $10 or families for $20”

    They make money from fear. That is what they are. It is a scam.

    • weka 7.1
      5 November 2021 at 7:16 pm

      who doesn't want to know?

    • Pete 7.2
      5 November 2021 at 9:41 pm

      "It is a scam." And it likely is scum.

      On RNZ this week there was a discussion with a couple of principals. Apparently some teachers are getting bogus exemption certificates.

      I appreciate some people may have genuine health reasons for seeking exemptions. I appreciate too that teachers are just ordinary people.

      A moral question arises. How can any teacher expect children to be honest, to have some sort of code around that if they themselves are dishonest? I understand that kids come from homes with the widest range of humanity and values.

  11. joe90 11
    5 November 2021 at 10:35 pm

    Just the thing to wind up my Friday.

    (nsf sensitive souls)