In the grand obama tradition, socialists, greens and others get a big FU from the democratic party.
A [deleted] is little better than a punch in the face.
Scraps from the masters table mentality wins out again.
What a time to be alive, liberals want their hand on the cooky jar, so screw the poor, disenfranchised, and the weak. A liberal wants to be stronger than king george the third.
Down with all authoritarian arsholes, and the people who support that sickening ideology be it a right or left version.
[I have deleted your racist slur that you repeated from last night’s comment on TRP’s Post Biden/Harris. You have been warned and banned for this kind of behaviour before. See you in two weeks – Incognito on behalf of TRP]
followed by those that live with those that have symptoms
followed by those that work with those that have symptoms
followed by those that came in contact with those that have symptoms
followed by the family and friends and collegues of all those that have come into contact with someone who came into contact with someone who has shown symptoms.
and then you pretty much tested quite a few 'asymptomatics' in the process
I don't know why this is so hard to understand? Unless we have 5 million tests r to test everyone right now it makes sense to start with the ones that show symptoms and drill down from there. I don't see how you want to find these 'asymptomatics' considering that they don't show symptoms.
Sabine…people who have had symptoms but have not ticked the 'crossing the border' or 'contact with a confirmed case' boxes have been refused tests by GPs, and have been advised by Healthline they don't need a test.
This is not the way to be confident there is no community transmission.
Oh, and asymptomatic people can and do infect others. Potentially more a risk than the symptomatic because they and their associates are not necessarily taking precautions. I don't know why this is so hard to understand.
It's about lowering risk and odds, not creating an absolute firewall. If it as about a firewall, we'd all be in L4.
I think we are still learning about transmission, infection and testing. As you know, MoH works with mainstream (conservative) health assessments, not the leading edge stuff.
"Epidemiologist Michael Baker said an outbreak usually went through a few generations of transmission before someone became sick enough to present with symptoms."
If roughly half of all cases are asymptomatic, and 80% of symptomatic cases are "mild", then only roughly 10% of cases are stronger than "mild".
So yeah, depending on where "sick enough to see a doctor" sits in relation to "mild", it may be that very few Covid victims end up feeling crap enough to bother with seeing a medical professional.
which means that if the current original four are several generations down the line, then the community transmission will be wide.
Do you have a sense of the numbers here compared to our first wave? To me it looks like this is a situation we've dealt with effectively before, this time being smaller numbers, it's just a matter of taking the time to get on top of it.
We had a few hundred active cases in the community and events conducive to superspreading still happening and a somewhat blase community attitude right up until the first lockdown at the end of March.
This time we jumped on it as soon as the first cases were detected, and a community that's somewhat more ready to go straight to the behavioural changes needed.
So we're starting in a much better place to beat it this time around, so it should happen a bit quicker. Not much quicker, though, there's still the time needed to allow for undetected chains of transmission to die out.
that's how I see it. I suspect that some of the anxiety is that people still don't understand the timelag thing and that not knowing doesn't = out of control.
Well it wasn’t eliminated. It was there, just undiscovered as untested until it made someone sick.
if we can accept that elimination appears to altogether impossible, why can’t we follow Sabine’s same principles but for treatment and care. Then at least 40% of the population are asymptomatic can carry on with life
Elimination here means known community transmission. We did eliminate that.
Not sure what your second paragraph is about, but we're not going to let the virus widespread into the community if we can help it because it will kill people and make others disabled.
so it was infecting people at decent rate, but nobody was symptomatic for 100 days?
That's almost better than a new outbreak from an unidentified overseas source. Except then we need to figure out why it suddenly decided to cause serious symptoms again.
A-symptomatic do not show symptoms, hence they don't get tested.
People with symptoms do get tested if they come from overseas, have contact with people coming from overseas etc.
So frankly what is happening is good allocation of limited resources. There is no such thing as 'confidence' if one is honest with one self, as we are dealing with a virus that changes / mutates rapidly, with testing that is not yet at a hundred percent reliability and above all we deal with people who may or may not actually be co-operating.
I don't know what is hard to understand that asymptomatic people don't even know that they are infected in the first place.
I don't understand why there is next to no acknowledgement that most people are asymptomatic and therefore are not considered a risk. They won't have been tested and are free ranging.
On the contrary. My reading is that it is pretty much universally acknowledged, but what are you going to do, short of testing absolutely everybody, all the time? What do you actually suggest?
Sorry for the delay…trees to plant, sheep to wrangle, meds and supplies to tee up for disabled partner just in case shit gets real again.
1. I am concerned that up until now Healthline and GPs have been refusing/advising against testing of even symptomatic people unless they tick one of the other criteria…close contact with confirmed case, border crossing or contact with border control personnel(who I understand have had no mandatory routine testing up until recently.).
Epidemiologist Michael Baker said an outbreak usually went through a few generations of transmission before someone became sick enough to present with symptoms.
That could take about three weeks, he said.
Physicist and disease modeller Shaun Hendy agreed, saying there could be several layers to the outbreak.
"If [the virus] has been passed from someone who arrived, and passed through several people to this family, then they could have passed it onto other people as well," he said.
And even today Ardern and Bloomfield are still placing weight to a person's symptom status when trying to ascertain if they were infectious…
The student was not symptomatic while at school and has not been at school since they became unwell and got tested so the chance of exposure … is low at this point.
Ardern says you can go to your local GP for a free test. If you are symptomatic you should call ahead so they can prepare for you.
At this stage it should not make any difference. Symptomatic or not. Ardern actually got it right some months ago when she advised us all to behave as if we were infected.
Its a huge concern that a contact of the current cluster visited an as yet un-named aged care facility in the Waikato…but the reality is that this is the season for respiratory infections to run through such places, and despite the best efforts of staff, a few of the residents are going to see their last winter.
Which answers part of your question about why tests have not been routinely offered to every New Zealander with symptoms over the last few months. Swamped would be the word.
I'd really, really like to see us all have an antibody test or somesuch. Get more of a true picture of how widespread Te Virus has been. Be more than worth the $$$ spent.
Your agenda, Rosemary, seems to me to be to reduce the public's confidence in the testing programme, rather than accept that the programme is, and has been for months, efficient and effective.
Hang on…..if they are only testing those who are highly likely to have the virus and not testing any of the 80% of infectious people who have the virus but are asymptomatic, how the hell can we have any confidence in the testing?
…to be to reduce the public's confidence in the testing programme,
Hmm, I guess I should feel flattered that you think little old moi has such influence…
Believe it or not, (and I care not either way where you fall) I am genuinely interested in how (my long time foe) the Ministry of Health (may the fleas from a thousand camels infect their collective armpit) devise their policies.
From my readings over the years about DSS and various Public Health issues, the Mystery policy writers seem not to be overburdened with intelligence, common sense or transparency.
From the very beginning of the shit show they have maintained the line that we should only be concerned about symptomatic people passing on infections. Very little if any precautions are needed if confirmed disease is not present.
The "PPE for front line health workers" debacle will go down in history (for some of us who were affected) as one of the less 'efficient and effective' aspects of the Ministry's work on this. I have been banging on about how they should have taken a precautionary approach from day one with the directives on mask wearing for those caring for vulnerable people either in hospital, residential care or in their own homes.
To hear Ardern using the expression 'precautionary approach' a number of times on the Natrad this morning had me snorting with irony. It may be a little late for that now.
Bearded Git. You do know we still have freedom of thought, opinion and speech…right? Is is now a criminal offense, treason perhaps, to express concern that a government agency might have erred in the management of some aspects of a public health crisis?
I would guess that they want to catch the asymptomatic people through contact tracing not through testing – it's way more efficient.
IWG 99% of Aucklanders are asymptomatic purely because they don't have the disease, they don't want to put all their testing resources into people with no evidence of disease instead of people with evidence of disease.
The sooner they find people with disease, the sooner they can get their contacts and find the asymptomatics.
[That being said, if you think for any reason that you should have a test then ring up healthline and get their advice.]
[That being said, if you think for any reason that you should have a test then ring up healthline and get their advice.]
People with symptoms but who don't meet the other criteria are being refused tests…especially by GPs. Because they don't tick the other boxes set by the Ministry.
Update…the MOH webpage has been revised…now saying anyone with symptoms should be tested and not adding on the 'confirmed case contact' or 'border contact' criteria.
because now we have community transmission, the criteria needs to change. Last week, if someone didn't have a plausible pathway of having been infected, what would be the point of testing?
…if someone didn't have a plausible pathway of having been infected,
We've made the assumption there is no community transmission…how would we know if only symptomatic folk have been tested (other than close contacts of confirmed cases)? I have this growing suspicion that because of the previously very narrow criteria for testing, many cases have gone undetected.
Asking around the whanau and wider contacts, so many of us have had various symptoms and have experienced some of the sequelae being reported (https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/122255216/heres-what-we-know-so-far-about-the-longterm-symptoms-of-covid19) but ether did not get tested because we didn't meet the criteria du jour, or were refused a test from a GP and an initial public testing station swab came back negative so they didn't go back or a follow up test…which can show positive.
There’s also the issue of false negatives, which often gets ignored (…). This is not anybody’s fault, least of all MoH’s, but a simple fact/consequence of the testing methodology.
I've bought a few things online that have come from overseas. After the initial lockdowns, I think NZ went back to BAU on that score (depending on overseas supplies).
Previously the advice was that package surfaces weren't a high risk. I'd guess it's more likely to be airline staff, and goods that are conducive to viruses surviving.
Not necessarily. A teeny-tiny risk per parcel multiplied by millions or even billions of parcels can multiply together to make a big enough risk to the nation to take precautions against. That it hasn't been detected yet doesn't mean it hasn't or won't happen.
Food, and ingredients for food production come via freight.
A lot of furniture, clothes, cars, spare parts etc come via freight.
Medical goods come via freight.
Books, toys, stuff for the building industry all come in via freight and so on and so on. I mean it is a good time to go back to the 18 century, all of us pioneers and such, but really?
So please define trinkets and baubles. What do you not need and thus can be of no use to someone else. 🙂
My waters tell me there is a touch of the 1800s in our future. What an opportunity to pivot towards it.
Trinkets and baubles would include: nice to haves eg foreign fruit/vege, beef, pork, belgian hash browns, stuff that is bought without knowing it was needed, lots of electronic devices – teles, phones.
Surely we can build without too much input from overseas, wood, cement, screws, gib, corrugated iron locally sourced.
Illogical, everybody (!) has to undergo 14-day isolation upon arriving at the border and are tested twice and have to return a negative test before allowed to leave the facility.
Three more staff members at the Americold warehouse facility in Auckland have tested positive to coronavirus.
Americold Managing Director of Australia and NZ, Richard Winnall, says the three people worked alongside a man in his 50s who has already tested positive to the virus, ABC is reporting.
He says all staff from the facility are isolating.
Has anyone figured out yet why the Govt. did not dissolve Parliament on schedule?
By not doing so they have opened up a nice big space for National to boost their dirty tricks into hyperdrive–and the technical possibility of a deferred election.
In short, given the fast-evolving nature of the current crisis, some decisions and actions could work out better by having parliament still in place and able to do its job.
They may need to pass legislation. For instance legislation about how to hold an election in level 3/4 area.
They get time to go over the preparations and procedures for a covid-19 election with the electoral commission.
By delaying the dissolution, they also delay the writ day – which means that they can still move election date without doing the week-by-week procedure.
They get time to find out how widespread the community infection is before making these kinds of decisions.
They get time to talk to the various political parties to get some kind of agreement on these things. That doesn’t look particularly useful with some of the crazed children in National screaming ‘look at me’. But the other political parties seem likely to be able to make rational decisions.
If the community transmission had been discovered a few days later then the writ would have been issued, and everything would have been far more complicated.
Good points from Andre’s link and lprent’s learned view.
My subjective take is that National’s idea of co-operation in a crisis is still a “swift kick to the nuts” rather than anything too genuine. Simon Bridges demonstrated that in Covid round 1, and Mr Muller and Mrs Collins continued that approach.
Yesterday Judith Collins said that her preference is for NZ to hold the election next year.
She may not realize it (the media haven't picked up on it yet) but she is actually calling for a whole raft of by-elections. Let's work through the consequences:
1. MPs who quit Parliament must be replaced. That was/is expected to happen at the coming election. No issue there.
2. But if the election is delayed until next year (which means at least March or April, there's no way you'd have one in January) then those MPs must return to Parliament.
3. Andrew Falloon cannot return, he is no longer an MP. So: Rangitata by-election.
4. All other MPs must return – or resign.
5. So Hamish Walker must return, in disgrace. Other electorate MPs who desperately wanted to get out, must come back instead (Dowie, Kaye, etc).
6. List MPs quit, no problem there. They are replaced by the next person on the list.
7. But if electorate MPs don't come back and continue to work, they must get leave to be absent. How long? Six months? Eight? Good luck explaining that one to the taxpayers, and the voters with no local MP.
8. By-elections are usually avoided when they are too close to an election date. So if we have a date in Oct/Nov 2020, there is still a problem (Walker and co getting extra weeks of paid vacation) but that's for them to explain to their voters.
9. But to delay until next year with no date means the current Parliament remains, indefinitely. So all electorate MPs must stay – or be replaced through a by-election.
Finally, look at the long, long list of National MPs who thought they were getting out now. Imagine them sitting in caucus for months and months, not wanting to be there. Imagine how they would feel about their leader. Imagine how long she would last …
There’s very inconsistent messaging from Judith Collins around all of this.
On the one hand, she wants more involvement in decision making.
On the other, she wants to delay the election.
She is sure that she will win the election,
and in doing so would have all the decision-making.
Why delay the election, Judith?
Sam Sachdeva, political editor from Newsroom, says, "National's deputy leader Gerry Brownlee outlined – unprompted – an allegedly suspicious series of events in recent weeks, as if joining the pieces of the puzzle with string on an overloaded pinboard."
Reti is on record as asking his constituents to hold their breath for 2.5 weeks. Which suggests that in his mind facts are less important than political calculation – so he'd leak like a sieve. Perhaps I am being unfair though, and his being (as Judith was so keen to point out) "Harvard educated", means that he has access to some higher order knowledge than the rest of us?
Imagine the trouble Bennett will cause of mean ole Judith forces her to delay her grand entrance into the private sector? I mean she’s probably got all the New Idea cover photos done!
I'd actually forgotten that both Bennett and Adams were still electorate MPs, because they both announced ages ago that they would move to the list (i.e. before the big meltdown).
So, National-held electorates whose MP doesn't want to be there, or who the National party doesn't want:
Auckland Central. Upper Harbour. East Coast. Otaki. Wairarapa. Selwyn. Southland. Invercargill (plus Rangitata, no MP at all). Any others?
And Judith thinks they are all happy to stay in Parliament, for at least another six months.
I can't see any reason to put the election off at this stage. We may be back in consistent L1 by then. What would be the point of making the decision now?
why should those that are on 'leave' get more then the mandated 4 weeks?
Honestly how quickly do you think all these National MPs that are trying like hell to get out would raise a stink of epic proportions in order to get out? Would Mrs. Oravida survive this actually?
I mean, lets not have an election for a year….i don't think that the current coalition would do much different that they did up until now. So i can't see that as a real negative for them. But for National it would mean to have to work and live with people who want out and if they choose not to return would / should be on unpaid leave for the duration. They would not like that one bit.
It would give JC and National a much-needed stay of execution. I don’t think JC and National would be averse to some really dirty guerrilla political warfare on the ground; it would suit them down to the ground, as they cannot beat JA by attacking her head-on.
No problem, and feel free to edit/amend as you wish. I'm not sure what the exact rules are on by-elections close to an election, or the 75% rule. Might need to check on that.
Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if the PM announces a short delay to the election soon, but still within the 3 year term. I'd really like her to announce that there is no way the government (or just Labour) would vote to extend into next year, in which case Judith's fantasy couldn't happen (obviously there's no 75% vote without Labour). But we'll see.
Crikey! Kim has just given one of her full-on interview with the abject Judith. Except that Judith is in denial and as usual doubled down on everything. A must listen to when it comes on.
If Collins has a better management plan then I want to hear it. I would actually listen to her alternative then I could judge for myself.
Hill needed to ask Collins to put out an alternative Covid management plan.
Collins would then say that she is not the government so not responsible and Collins would keep attacking a government and an PM who are giving it their all.
Collins displaying all that self entitlement that the National Party portrays on a daily basis.
Collins and Brownlee are only seat warmers, they'll have "Leader and Deputy Leader" on their CVs, finally after 2 decades or more of being basically Incompetent.
Yeah, I heard that. Kim Hill ripped the shit out of Collins. Watch your back Kim Hill because if the Tories get in with Collins in charge, you will be gone burger by lunchtime after that classic.
The transportation infrastructure industry and its procurers certainly appear to have more than their fair share of outright corruption here in New Zealand. There was also that Auckland Council thing not too long ago …
I hope Brownlee's smirk at the end of his part of yesterday’s press conference goes viral as a classic piece of body language being more truthful than the words uttered.
Another great piece of smirkery was in the final week of Parliament when Winston Peters asked a supplementary question of the PM and then, before he sat down, looked across at the National front bench and gave the smallest of smirks.
It said, "Gotcha," "Take that" and "If you think I want to join political forces with you, get another opinion".
He almost got to nano-robots in vaccines taking instructions from the UN via 5G and bending us to the will of the Wicked One as foretold in the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion"
So Brownlee may have missed out the impact of the Lizard people then? What is the use of having a conspiracy theory if you leave off a vital part of it?
I hope support and wrap around services are in place for the affected family and friends. This "It is costing Auckland $400 000 a week" is like that is the only cost.
This family could be impacted for months, their mental health and well being must be impacted by all the 'should have-could have' comments.
We had all stopped distancing, felt safe and happy. How shattered their world is.
I live in Rotorua, so feel anxious again. This is a sneaky virus, which doesn't discriminate. The people concerned are needing kindness and cooperation in the face of a community threat.
They are sure to be checking and rechecking lists of where they went, when and who they spent time with. A bloody nightmare.
The country was on vacation and the vacation is over.
Probably level 3 in Rotorua in the next day or two. I would not outrule else where going to level 3. Doing the stuff that works (wearing masks, testing, contacting tracing, isolating, being kind to yourself and others). This will make a difference.
My guess is level four if the staff that worked at the eatery that the person from auckland went to comes through infected. And in saying that it might be the easiest to just shut it all down again.
The best way is to stay in level 3 permanently. Guidough in Rotorua did just that. He never came out of Level 3, no on gets in the business, curbside trading only. I do the same.
Pretend you are in Level three, and if worried, or if someone at high risk, call and order in and have delivered. Specially in Rotorua the businesses have been great about this. The community has been great about this.
I am feeling much saver here then in AKL.
As for the family, it sucks to be them, but in the end it was just an accident waiting to happen. I hope they get enough money to pay the bills, and keep their homes, and then can go back to work. If at this stage in the year 2020 people want to stigmatise others for catching a disease at work, they should be called out for it and loudly so.
This is NOT a sneaky virus, to say so is to say that the virus makes conscious decisions on its behaviour !!!
Giving human characteristics to animals, inanimate objects or natural phenomena is a human trait called “to anthropomorphize.” Sadly, as in the tragic Sea World attack the proclivity is forgotten as we wonder why the animal behaved as an animal.
I am yet to read any commentary that the virus was already here present within NZ, and if so then that raises the question that part of our response to this resurgence could be inappropriate or mis guided i.e we are seeking a solution to the wrong question.
I am yet to read any commentary that the virus was already here present within NZ, and if so then that raises the question that part of our response to this resurgence could be inappropriate or mis guided i.e we are seeking a solution to the wrong question.
That Q has been addressed and put to rest by Dr Bloomfield and also by Professor Shaun Hendy IIRC. There are loads of smart cookies in the room and the chances that they have overlooked something so basic are very small IMHO. But we still have the doubters, cynics, and ‘sceptics’ …
yes, and us sceptics, cycincs, and doubters were all proven correct this week with our keeping up social distancing, keeping our bubbles real small, keeping up with the sanitizing, scanning of the app etc etc etc.
One can do an excellent job and still listen to the doubters the cycnics and the sceptics and if only to not get complacent and smug.
As Treetop said, the country went on vacation, got a little smug and boom…..here we go again.
I wasn’t talking about the country, I was talking about the smart people in the room. Even the most radical conspiracy theorist can ‘strike gold’ once but this doesn’t mean we should give them any oxygen. This isn’t about Cynics-Doubters vs. MoH-Experts 1 – 0.
The conspiracy according to Judith on rnz this morning with Kim Hill is ousted in this telling part.
JUDITH "..and it absolutely does not have any credibilty to suggest that after being told that we have102 days of no Covid19 in community transmission, suddenly it appears, and no responsibilty taken and no looking at how it.. ( Hill interupts)."
How did Judith or anyone think that Covid19 would re-appear if not SUDDENLY , slowly and overtly ???
Yes Judith, Covid19 a microscopic entity, comes up the front path, knocks at your door with a name badge on and politely asks, ' Can, I come in please? '.
Or Covid arrived by another plausible manner-: A Natz supporter illegally brings into the country a 'parcel' ; same mode as rabbit calicivirus transmission in 1997.
More plausible because Judith stated, we will do 'whatever we have to' to get power back.
Otherwise this explanation for Judith might have gone over her head about remaining vigilant.
I recall most of those 102 days on updates a message of sorts was always given to act safely not be complacent, get tested, get the tracing app. So where does the Natz "suddenly" theory come from?
In NZ, following WHO directives also and alerted by worldwide resurgence, ( nutters holding the likes of 'Covid parties'), the NZ Government in line with MOH undertakes proactive preparations and ad campaigns. Is remaining prepared Judith's conspiracy?
Some seem keen to turn the conspiracy theories back onto Judith, Gerry, and the National Party. We only need to look overseas to see where that gets us, i.e. further away from discerning truth.
Not all scenarios are equal and wasting time & effort on chasing after “all scenarios” is a well-known and effective diversion tactic. Politics is about the effective and efficient distribution and use of resources. If the political process is flawed or hijacked then the outcome(s) of that process are likely to be sub-optimal at best.
The process during a crisis is somewhat different than otherwise. Good urgent decision-making relies on ruthless focus and discarding chaff. Anybody muddying the waters tends to get excluded. Collins can whinge all she likes from outside the bunker door.
Fact, two persons on individual occasions have now attempted to break into Q facilities? What were their objectives other than being with malintent towards the safety of others?
Shaun Hendy … he of the school of stating the bleeding obvious, overestimation and lockdown extensions.
Pathetic response that suggests you have a chip on your shoulder and not heard of Science Communication. I can send you some of Hendy’s peer-reviewed scientific articles and see how far you get with understanding those.
I don’t think anybody is happy about the most recent turn of events. Talking of stating the bleeding obvious.
Follow up question then – why hasn't this been undertaken at regular periods over the last several months ?
If what I'm hearing from my sources in the higher echelons of ADHB is correct regarding new cases outside of Auckland (I sincerely hope it is incorrect) there looks to have been a catastrophic failure of border and quarantine controls..
If indeed there has been a “catastrophic failure of border and quarantine controls..” what have “your sources in the higher echelons of ADHB” done about it? Go and ask them instead and report back here when you’ve got the answers, thanks. Ask Dr Siouxsie about testing of wastewater and effluent. I'm sure you have requisite computer skills to find her contact details.
covid can show up after not showing in all the quarantine tests, it's tricky like that. So it doesn't necessarily follow that quarantine was breached IMO
"It said there is a programme of daily health checks, and any staff member who reports symptoms consistent with Covid-19 must stay at home, get tested and self-isolate until they receive the result of their test.
The ministry is also undertaking regular asymptomatic surveillance testing of people working in border-facing roles, including those at managed isolation and quarantine facilities, particularly those who have direct contact with international crew and travellers.
There is testing available on-site for staff every two to three weeks. "
I had kinda gone off of Bill Maher, but if he consistently lifts his game back up to the level of this mock eulogy for the fake-tan fuhrer, I might warm to him again.
You can fly into Auckland on a domestic flight if you are returning home, an essential worker or are coming to Auckland to undertake an essential service
* You can travel in Auckland to catch an international flight departing from Auckland Airport
* You can also transit through Auckland Airport to catch an outbound international flight
* You can transit through Auckland Airport domestically on flights, but must not leave at Auckland unless you live in Auckland or are undertaking essential travel
* You can leave on a departing flight out of Auckland Airport if you are travelling home or are leaving to undertake an essential service.
Auckland Airport is now off limits to the public except those with booked travel.
More than 13,000 people are expected to pass through the domestic terminal on Wednesday with similar numbers the following days.
No contradiction – if you already had a flight booked from Akl to Queenstown then you can still board it. Good to read that some travellers are prepared to change their plans once there if needed.
There's a privately owned helicoptor which has been flying backwards and forwards between Auckland and Northland for 2 days now. Looks like it originates from somewhere in East Auckland.
Rich folk avoiding the police roadblocks and fleeing Auckland by air to their holiday mansions up north?
Pretty sure that ODT article started yesterday and got updated and ended up with today’s date on it. They interview people who refer to leaving before mid day, so were ok
ir New Zealand has seen “thousands” of cancellations since Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Auckland would go back into level 3 lockdown, and the rest of the country would move to alert level 2 following new cases of community transmission of Covid-19.
Rotorua Level 4 – 3 weeks – starting Sat – wednesday (exposure to the infected person by Staff at Fat Dog, Burger Fuel, Gondola, Red Woods etc etc etc)
if another case is found in Taupo / Tauranga etc, North Island level 4 – 3 weeks – Wednesday
South Island – see rest of North Island. – Wednesday.
ir New Zealand has seen “thousands” of cancellations since Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Auckland would go back into level 3 lockdown, and the rest of the country would move to alert level 2 following new cases of community transmission of Covid-19.
I would be very surprised if Level 4 lockdown is implemented in Auckland it achieves little more than Level 3 in terms of Covid control and has very negative economic consequences and politically I'm not sure it would be wise.
Now that the Wellington case looks like a false positive I'd wait for overnight testing results if there is little to no upwards/downwards transmission outside of the current cluster there may even be a relaxation in restrictions.
I suppose it depends on whether they find new cases not attached to the known cluster. I hope you're right, though, I'm supposed to settle my house sale and purchase on 2/9, and leave Hamilton for the South Island.
Thanks, too expensive to move my junk, so I'm in the process of giving all my furniture and stuff to the Vinnies. Moving really light – just a car full of clothes, kettle and essentials, so shouldn't be much of a hassle, though it’s only a MX-5.
I'm moving to that house for sale just down the road from greywarshark to get the supermarket tongues a wagging lol
But seriously, Westport on the West coast. Damian O' electorate vote, party vote green.
Couriering my TV, PC and music stuff, so foresight I always keep the boxes and packaging, but everything else is going. I did the same when I last moved, bar the fridge and two beds, but this time it's all going.
A lady just came to pick up my old washing machine and it felt stink to find out they'd charged her $80 for it. If I'd have been really on to it, I would have advertised it on notice boards for free.
Seems to have dragged on, but then it only really got serious once I found out I was being laid off after the wage subsidy runs out, so it focused my mind somewhat. Been a couple on months (or more) from offer to settlement.
Bought sight unseen (other than agents ad photos), though I did get an excellent builders report, so even though a bit fingers crossed, I'm not worried about it.
I am jealous Al1en. I had a chance to move from this overrated and overcrowded shithole called Hamilton 15 years ago to Oamaru. One of the worse decisions I made by staying here and more concerned about making money instead of retiring gracefully and moving. Good luck pal I am sure you will not regret moving to the SI.
I hear you, and while I don't actively dislike Hamilton (that much), it hasn't really given me a reason to stay put.
First choice was Golden bay, but Westport was much more affordable, so won out. Finally I'll have a 1/4 acre section, which may not be the kiwi dream anymore, but it's long been mine. Hoping to do it justice.
Reporter Hannah Martin is at a testing facility in St Luke's, Auckland, which has a queue about 1km long. Everyone she's spoken to this morning "has felt symptomatic and has felt like this is the best call for them", she says.
Let's say they are all symptomatic. Average distance between parked cars – 5m. Average number of people in each – 1.25. Average length of queue at each of Auckland's 15 testing stations – 500m.
1875 symptomatic people doing voluntary testing in Auckland just this morning.
The reports of the long time they have to spend waiting is bad. Six hours? There at 6 when it doesn't open till 8 am to make sure. Another yesterday at 6ish and long long wait. Must do better with this.
Australia's Northern Territory will be closed to visitors from virus hotspots for a further 18 months to protect its large and vulnerable Aboriginal population, authorities said Tuesday.
The sparsely populated northern region is home to roughly 250,000 people — 30 percent of whom are Aboriginal — according to government figures.
"We'll have our hard border controls in place for at least the next 18 months. And we're resourcing so we can do that," Chief Minister Michael Gunner told public broadcaster ABC.
Arrest them and send them to an island where they can be together. Trouble is that if we have any empty islands we are trying to make them bird sanctuaries. This lot would kill 'em and eat 'em raw. So no good that idea.
The difference might be that O'Sullivan gets riled up but is also busy trying to do good things for needy people, the other is a person who belongs to a group that have legitimate grievances from the past, and are better at growing them than anything else. Bet they haven't been the ones growing the illicit marijuana up there for decades. That requires real work.
One difference between Boynton and O'Sullivan might be class.
Indeed. A yawning gap between a previous offender with a fondness for using his fists and someone who, despite a rush of blood for which he was discharged with no convictions, has gotten off his arse and delivered free medical clinics, school-based health services and an initiative to improve housing.
Agreed there. It angers me that so called leadership at the top levels ( Natz) role modelled 'dissent' and division in the first instance as a very public response.
This Natz immediate public response was not about care for anyone or Judith's ass covering, slithering excuses given today on Kim Hill's rnz segment.
The intent was dangerous Trumpism play for her air space. She flouted Auckland travel restrictions and found herself suddenly superfluous flapping around like granny knickers on the line.
Thus, if it's okay for Judith to protest with her whackjob minions….
If Natz want their airwaves to campaign (then as the article says may happen ) join the protest in Auckland Saturday. Get out there you cowardly Natz and greet, kiss, hug and rub shoulders with the crowds.
More potential infections in the hundreds in one go but hey Judith could grab the podium she craves.
China’s Shenzhen Discovers Coronavirus in Brazil Poultry Product (8:45 a.m. HK)
A sample of a frozen chicken wing imported from Brazil tested positive for coronavirus in China’s Shenzhen city, according to a statement from the local government.
Virus tests of people who have possibly come into contact with the product — and tests of related products — all came back negative, the government said.
Earlier, the outside of an Ecuador frozen shrimp package tested positive for coronavirus in a restaurant in Wuhu, a city in China’s Anhui province, state television CCTV reported.
Virus tests of people who have possibly come into contact with the product — and tests of related products — all came back negative, the government said.
looks like level 3 for north island friday 11:59 and possible level 4 for auckland unless they find the rest of the close contacts tomorrow.
watch the economy tank.
[You might well be right but unless you can provide a reliable link, I assume you’re fearmongering. I’ve put you in Pre-Moderation until you put up something decent to support your ‘prediction’ or admit that it is a fidget of your imagination – Incognito]
i cant say how I know that, obviously. so i guess im sitting here.
[All your comments need to be manually approved before they appear in the front-end. Alternatively, they are moved to the Trash folder in the back-end.
Are you telling me you made it all up and that you have no way of knowing? Not even an argument as to why you think that way? Just BS? – Incognito]
Nope – I heard from someone with direct knowledge. But I'm not department dropping here.
[So, we have no way of verifying your rumour and you have not provided any decent argument either as to why you think your rumour may come true; you need to argue your point(s), not just spray & walkaway , as usual. Moved to the Blacklist until Monday – Incognito]
May I just say I don't care about this 'deadly flu', as I described it to my dear but non-talking v.old mother. Compared to climate change … Christ help us.
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
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Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
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In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
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Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
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Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giovanni E Ferreira, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney Last week in a post on X, owner of the platform Elon Musk recommended people look into disc replacement if they’re experiencing severe neck or back pain. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University anek.soowannaphoom/Shutterstock NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey caught the headlines yesterday, courtesy of a blistering speech condemning the latest GST carve-up. New South Wales, he claimed, would be A$11.9 billion worse off over the ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived at Kokoda Station, Northern province, at the start of his state visit to Papua New Guinea. Both Albanese and Prime Minister James Marape will meet with the locals and the Northern Provincial government before they begin their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Wallace, Professor, School of Politics Economics & Society, Faculty of Business Government & Law, University of Canberra Shutterstock An important principle was invoked by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week in defence of the government’s Future Made in Australia industry ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Security forces reinforcements were sent from France ahead of two rival marches in the capital Nouméa today, at the same time and only two streets away one from the other. One march, called by Union Calédonienne party (a component of the ...
A poll last August found that just 16% of New Zealanders oppose bringing back the ‘Three Strikes’ law. The nationwide poll of 1,000 New Zealanders was commissioned by Family First NZ and carried out by Curia Market Research. ...
The solo show from Ana Scotney is both sprawling and intimate, and a must-see, writes Mad Chapman. In the opening moments of Scattergun: After the Death of Rūaumoko, writer and performer Ana Scotney lays out the groundwork, literally. Silently moving around the square stage, Scotney is not so much dancing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Burridge, Professor of Linguistics, Monash University Who makes the words? Why are trees called trees and why are shoes called shoes and who makes the names? – Elliot, age 5, Eltham, Victoria Good question Elliot! Let’s start with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne at amRawpixel.com/Shutterstock Roles of health professionals are still unfortunately often stuck in the past. That is, before the ...
COMMENTARY:By Malcolm Evans Last week’s leaked New York Times staff directive, as to what words can and cannot be used to describe the carnage Israel is raining on Palestinians, is proof positive, since those reports are published verbatim here in New Zealand, that our understanding of the conflict is ...
In the case of New Zealand, the results confirm that there is no popular support for the vicious austerity program being imposed by the National Party-led government, which is backed in all fundamental respects by the opposition Labour Party. ...
The ‘Vampire’ singer has never visited our part of the world, but that might all be about to change. We assess the evidence.Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour is pulling in massive crowds as it whips around the US and Europe, even helping to catapult regular supporting act Chappell Roan ...
Testing of drinking water in rural Canterbury over the weekend by Greenpeace revealed that several public town supplies were reaching levels of nitrate above 5 mg/L - the threshold which a growing body of scientific evidence has linked to increased ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rohan Fisher, Information Technology for Development Researcher, Charles Darwin University It may come as a surprise to hear 2023 was Australia’s biggest bushfire season in more than a decade. Fires burned across an area eight times as big as the 2019–20 Black ...
Responding to the Government’s announcement of changes to resource management laws, Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said: “These changes are a step in the right direction in terms of removing ideological and unworkable ...
More than two years after the Human Rights Council called for the establishment of a national human rights commission, such a body has yet to be formed. ...
Comment:An emergency management system with wide variations in performance, significant capability gaps, funding shortfalls and above all a setup that is not meeting the needs of New Zealanders at times of crisis. The Government’s inquiry into the response to Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events in the North ...
Welcome to the whirring wonders of one brain trying to align its actions with its beliefs within a system it thinks is evil. My brain has been spiralling in a woke conundrum ever since I found out a bookshop I’ve never been to was shutting down. Good Books, a bookshop ...
We repeat our call for criminal justice policy to be based on evidence, something the three strikes regime neglects to recognise – with no evidence that it either reduces crime or assists with rehabilitation. ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara With only four more seats in the 50-member Parliament yet to be officially declared, there is no outright winner in the Solomon Islands elections. As of Monday, the two largest blocs in the winner’s circle, independents and the incumbent Prime Minister Manasseh ...
Two/fiftyseven is a multi-purpose space hidden in the heart of Wellington that is paving a way for sustainable building and responsible landlording in Aotearoa and beyond.By 2060 the world is predicted to double its entire building stock, which equates to building an entire New York City every 34 days, ...
Popstars wasn’t just a reality television revolution, it was also a huge moment for Y2K fashion.It’s 25 years since girl group TrueBliss was formed on New Zealand national television, breaking new ground for both the reality television industry and the shiny clothing industry. With the first episode on NZ ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Pepping, Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology, Griffith University Marvin / Shutterstock Are all single people insecure? When we think about people who have been single for a long time, we may assume it’s because single people have insecurities that make ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William Geary, Lecturer in Quantitative Ecology & Biodiversity Conservation, The University of Melbourne Trismegist san, Shutterstock Landscapes that have escaped fire for decades or centuries tend to harbour vital structures for wildlife, such as tree hollows and large logs. But these ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Gladstone-Gallagher, Lecturer in Marine Science, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Shutterstock/S Curtis Why are we crossing ecological boundaries that affect Earth’s fundamental life-supporting capacity? Is it because we don’t have enough information about how ecosystems respond to change? Or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Crocker, PhD Student in Economics, Deakin University Here’s something for the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia to ponder as it meets next month to set interest rates. It has pushed up rates on 13 occasions since it began its ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a charity director outlines how she’s saving for retirement and buying secondhand. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female Age: 45 Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: Charity director, mum of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sophie Yates, Research Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Many Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late last year. Now a ...
It’s been called a failed experiment and a judicial straightjacket but the government says the revised three strikes law will be a more workable regime, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Three ...
New Zealand’s Palestinian community and Palestinian Youth Aotearoa are voicing alarm and disappointment with the lack of factual rigour present during the Israeli Ambassador’s appearance as a guest on TVNZ’s Q+A With Jack Tame Sunday (21/04). ...
Both ACT leader David Seymour, who played a key role in drawing up the assisted dying law, and hospice leaders say it's time the legislation was changed. ...
Public submissions on proposed gang control laws are being heard today. Rising gang membership has been cited as rationale for a crackdown – but what do we actually know about how many people belong to gangs in New Zealand?What’s all this then?A rise in the number of gang ...
Climate activists are setting their sights on an unpopular target, and hoping to bring lots of the public with them. It’s hard to miss the Majestic Princess: the enormous cruise ship, docked at Auckland’s Prince’s Wharf, looms over the nearby buildings. The ship, which can fit nearly 6,000 people, ...
In the 16 years since it was bought by the government for $690 million, KiwiRail has had several overhauls and turnaround plans worth billions of dollars. Its ambitions as a successful, profitable operator of tourism, freight and ferries have often been derailed by disasters from earthquakes to cyclones, mine explosions ...
Black Ferns trailblazer Kendra Cocksedge was on the verge of tears when her young protégé, Hannah King, unassumingly broke the news. Three-time Rugby World Cup winner Cocksedge and Lincoln agriculture student King meet every few weeks over a hot chocolate, in an enduring mentorship that’s spanned years. “Before we even ...
Opinion: We’ve kicked the tyres on the perception NZ’s economy is in a parlous state compared to Australia. We take a quick tour of relative trends in GDP, housing markets, labour markets, trade, the fiscal situation, and the outlooks for inflation and interest rates. We find the cyclical positions of ...
Opinion: Making sure developers, local and central government, and landowners are all on the same page makes sense The post A new kind of city deal appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 23 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The following korero between Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku, author of the newly published memoir Hine Toa, one of the year’s most important books, and Dale Husband from e-tangata, was first published in October. It traverses her involvement with the activist group Ngā Tamatoa at Auckland University in the early 1970s, her ...
By Russell Palmer, RNZ News digital political journalist New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters is putting off recognition of Palestine as a state, despite opposition Labour’s formal request that he make the move. Peters said diplomatic recognition of Palestine was a matter of “when not if”, but doing so now ...
The opposition has laid into the government's plan to reintroduce a "three strikes" regime, saying it's inequitable and there's very little evidence it works. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Nicholls, Senior research associate, University of Sydney Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has ordered social media platform “X” (formerly known as Twitter) to remove graphic videos of the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel in Sydney last week from the site. The incident ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Turnbull, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Sydney John Turnbull, CC BY-NC-ND In past bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef, the southern region has sometimes been spared worst of the bleaching. Not this time. This year’s intense underwater heat has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Austin, Lecturer in Theatre, The University of Melbourne Darren Gill/Mackey, Darling & Collaborators The relationship between witchcraft and teenage girls has been the subject of many books, films and television shows. Over time, the traditional image of witch as crone ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Becky Freeman, Associate Professor, School of Public Health, University of Sydney Andres Siimon/Unsplash There are no silver bullets, magic tricks or secret hacks to solving complex public health problems. Taking on the global tobacco industry and reducing the devastating consequences of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam B. Watts, Research Associate in galaxy evolution, The University of Western Australia ESO/A. Watts et al., CC BY We breathe oxygen and nitrogen gas in our atmosphere every day, but did you know that these gases also float through space, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Nielsen, Professor and Deputy Director, Monash Addiction Research Centre, Monash University Maxime Bhm/Unsplash A new group of drugs called nitazenes has been detected in Australia. They have been sold as heroin as well as other drugs like ketamine. Concerns ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne Twomey, Professor emerita, University of Sydney Image from Bradlow + Bock campaign Can the job of being a federal member of parliament be shared by two or more persons? Two prospective candidates for the inner-Melbourne federal seat of Higgins, Lucy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zoe Rathus, Senior Lecturer in Law, Griffith University Shutterstock In October 2023, the federal parliament passed major changes to how children’s cases are decided under the Family Law Act, which kick in next month. Among other things, they repeal a ...
By Salwa Amor in Istanbul Palestine solidarity activists are preparing a flotilla to deliver urgently needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, vowing to break Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory on board the Akdeniz, a seven-deck passenger ship. Currently docked in Istanbul, the ship will carry 800 people from more than ...
The Government is putting at risk the defences of our land and sea borders against organised crime, and our online defences against child exploitation, terrorism and online crime with cuts to critical frontline roles at Customs and Internal Affairs. ...
We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+. If you love a good cry: All of Us Strangers (Disney+)It’s the dreamlike, emotional film that had viewers running from the cinema in floods of tears, and ...
The foreign minister says diplomatic recognition of Palestine is a matter of "when not if", but doing so now could impede progress towards a two-state solution. ...
In the grand obama tradition, socialists, greens and others get a big FU from the democratic party.
A [deleted] is little better than a punch in the face.
Scraps from the masters table mentality wins out again.
What a time to be alive, liberals want their hand on the cooky jar, so screw the poor, disenfranchised, and the weak. A liberal wants to be stronger than king george the third.
Down with all authoritarian arsholes, and the people who support that sickening ideology be it a right or left version.
[I have deleted your racist slur that you repeated from last night’s comment on TRP’s Post Biden/Harris. You have been warned and banned for this kind of behaviour before. See you in two weeks – Incognito on behalf of TRP]
Now that my abs have stopped aching from the belly laugh that tantrum induced, I could do with another.
Pray tell, who could Biden have picked that would have persuaded you that Biden has at heart the interests of "socialists, greens and others"?
See my Moderation note @ 7:52 AM.
Given that at least 40% of Covid infectious are asymptomatic….why is Uncle Ashley saying only those who are symptomatic should be tested?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018759267/covid-19-mt-albert-grammar-student-tested-positive-bloomfield-confirms
elimination process
start with the ones that have symptoms
followed by those that live with those that have symptoms
followed by those that work with those that have symptoms
followed by those that came in contact with those that have symptoms
followed by the family and friends and collegues of all those that have come into contact with someone who came into contact with someone who has shown symptoms.
and then you pretty much tested quite a few 'asymptomatics' in the process
I don't know why this is so hard to understand? Unless we have 5 million tests r to test everyone right now it makes sense to start with the ones that show symptoms and drill down from there. I don't see how you want to find these 'asymptomatics' considering that they don't show symptoms.
Sabine…people who have had symptoms but have not ticked the 'crossing the border' or 'contact with a confirmed case' boxes have been refused tests by GPs, and have been advised by Healthline they don't need a test.
This is not the way to be confident there is no community transmission.
Oh, and asymptomatic people can and do infect others. Potentially more a risk than the symptomatic because they and their associates are not necessarily taking precautions. I don't know why this is so hard to understand.
how did we manage to eliminate covid before then?
It's about lowering risk and odds, not creating an absolute firewall. If it as about a firewall, we'd all be in L4.
I think we are still learning about transmission, infection and testing. As you know, MoH works with mainstream (conservative) health assessments, not the leading edge stuff.
this is interesting though,
"Epidemiologist Michael Baker said an outbreak usually went through a few generations of transmission before someone became sick enough to present with symptoms."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/423412/experts-michael-baker-and-shaun-hendy-share-concerns-auckland-outbreak-could-be-generations-deep
Does this suggest that most cases have symptoms lower than what would send someone to the doctor?
If roughly half of all cases are asymptomatic, and 80% of symptomatic cases are "mild", then only roughly 10% of cases are stronger than "mild".
So yeah, depending on where "sick enough to see a doctor" sits in relation to "mild", it may be that very few Covid victims end up feeling crap enough to bother with seeing a medical professional.
which means that if the current original four are several generations down the line, then the community transmission will be wide.
Do you have a sense of the numbers here compared to our first wave? To me it looks like this is a situation we've dealt with effectively before, this time being smaller numbers, it's just a matter of taking the time to get on top of it.
We had a few hundred active cases in the community and events conducive to superspreading still happening and a somewhat blase community attitude right up until the first lockdown at the end of March.
This time we jumped on it as soon as the first cases were detected, and a community that's somewhat more ready to go straight to the behavioural changes needed.
So we're starting in a much better place to beat it this time around, so it should happen a bit quicker. Not much quicker, though, there's still the time needed to allow for undetected chains of transmission to die out.
QFT
that's how I see it. I suspect that some of the anxiety is that people still don't understand the timelag thing and that not knowing doesn't = out of control.
My understanding Rosemary is that they are testing all close contacts incl asymptomatic
Well it wasn’t eliminated. It was there, just undiscovered as untested until it made someone sick.
if we can accept that elimination appears to altogether impossible, why can’t we follow Sabine’s same principles but for treatment and care. Then at least 40% of the population are asymptomatic can carry on with life
Oh, so you did some tests, did you?
Elimination here means known community transmission. We did eliminate that.
Not sure what your second paragraph is about, but we're not going to let the virus widespread into the community if we can help it because it will kill people and make others disabled.
Do you know what “asymptomatic” means in this context?
https://www.rnzcgp.org.nz/GPPulse/Opinion/Asymptomatic-spread-of-COVID-19
so it was infecting people at decent rate, but nobody was symptomatic for 100 days?
That's almost better than a new outbreak from an unidentified overseas source. Except then we need to figure out why it suddenly decided to cause serious symptoms again.
A-symptomatic do not show symptoms, hence they don't get tested.
People with symptoms do get tested if they come from overseas, have contact with people coming from overseas etc.
So frankly what is happening is good allocation of limited resources. There is no such thing as 'confidence' if one is honest with one self, as we are dealing with a virus that changes / mutates rapidly, with testing that is not yet at a hundred percent reliability and above all we deal with people who may or may not actually be co-operating.
I don't know what is hard to understand that asymptomatic people don't even know that they are infected in the first place.
And that is the last i have to add to this.
People with symptoms do get tested if they come from overseas,
Has the data been published as to how many overseas travelers have tested positive and are totally asymptomatic?
I doubt that symptomatic people would be allowed to travel and potentially infect a whole plane full of others + crew + border personnel.
There are fairly recent reports of people being symptomatic on arrival.
https://www.odt.co.nz/star-news/star-national/covid-19-two-new-confirmed-cases-virus
Dunno if that means they successfully hid symptoms pre-boarding, became symptomatic during the flight, or whether there was no pre-flight screening.
Silly, they dont have enough testing kits and staff resources to test everyone that needs to be. That puts us way behind USA and UK.
USA, UK or NZ – know where I'd rather be. "We don't know how lucky we are…"
You have nailed it Sabine. It really was a stupid question….but I think on purpose with an agenda attached.
…but I think on purpose with an agenda attached.
What agenda? Be specific.
I don't understand why there is next to no acknowledgement that most people are asymptomatic and therefore are not considered a risk. They won't have been tested and are free ranging.
On the contrary. My reading is that it is pretty much universally acknowledged, but what are you going to do, short of testing absolutely everybody, all the time? What do you actually suggest?
That is exactly what the USA is attempting. Of course, the more you test the more you find.
And that is why, Dorothy, we know that over 80% of infection are symptomatic…….
What do you actually suggest?
Sorry for the delay…trees to plant, sheep to wrangle, meds and supplies to tee up for disabled partner just in case shit gets real again.
1. I am concerned that up until now Healthline and GPs have been refusing/advising against testing of even symptomatic people unless they tick one of the other criteria…close contact with confirmed case, border crossing or contact with border control personnel(who I understand have had no mandatory routine testing up until recently.).
2. These two…https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/423412/experts-michael-baker-and-shaun-hendy-share-concerns-auckland-outbreak-could-be-generations-deep … also have concerns that current cases are 'generations deep'.
Epidemiologist Michael Baker said an outbreak usually went through a few generations of transmission before someone became sick enough to present with symptoms.
That could take about three weeks, he said.
Physicist and disease modeller Shaun Hendy agreed, saying there could be several layers to the outbreak.
"If [the virus] has been passed from someone who arrived, and passed through several people to this family, then they could have passed it onto other people as well," he said.
And even today Ardern and Bloomfield are still placing weight to a person's symptom status when trying to ascertain if they were infectious…
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/423443/covid-19-update-13-new-cases-in-community-one-in-managed-isolation
The student was not symptomatic while at school and has not been at school since they became unwell and got tested so the chance of exposure … is low at this point.
Ardern says you can go to your local GP for a free test. If you are symptomatic you should call ahead so they can prepare for you.
At this stage it should not make any difference. Symptomatic or not. Ardern actually got it right some months ago when she advised us all to behave as if we were infected.
Its a huge concern that a contact of the current cluster visited an as yet un-named aged care facility in the Waikato…but the reality is that this is the season for respiratory infections to run through such places, and despite the best efforts of staff, a few of the residents are going to see their last winter.
Which answers part of your question about why tests have not been routinely offered to every New Zealander with symptoms over the last few months. Swamped would be the word.
I'd really, really like to see us all have an antibody test or somesuch. Get more of a true picture of how widespread Te Virus has been. Be more than worth the $$$ spent.
I see they're investing in DNA testing for this recent outbreak.
DNA sequencing is done for a completely different reason than an antibody test. Different jobs require different tools.
Your agenda, Rosemary, seems to me to be to reduce the public's confidence in the testing programme, rather than accept that the programme is, and has been for months, efficient and effective.
Hang on…..if they are only testing those who are highly likely to have the virus and not testing any of the 80% of infectious people who have the virus but are asymptomatic, how the hell can we have any confidence in the testing?
What do you mean by “confidence in the testing”? Where’s that 80% figure coming from? Link?
…to be to reduce the public's confidence in the testing programme,
Hmm, I guess I should feel flattered that you think little old moi has such influence…
Believe it or not, (and I care not either way where you fall) I am genuinely interested in how (my long time foe) the Ministry of Health (may the fleas from a thousand camels infect their collective armpit) devise their policies.
From my readings over the years about DSS and various Public Health issues, the Mystery policy writers seem not to be overburdened with intelligence, common sense or transparency.
From the very beginning of the shit show they have maintained the line that we should only be concerned about symptomatic people passing on infections. Very little if any precautions are needed if confirmed disease is not present.
The "PPE for front line health workers" debacle will go down in history (for some of us who were affected) as one of the less 'efficient and effective' aspects of the Ministry's work on this. I have been banging on about how they should have taken a precautionary approach from day one with the directives on mask wearing for those caring for vulnerable people either in hospital, residential care or in their own homes.
To hear Ardern using the expression 'precautionary approach' a number of times on the Natrad this morning had me snorting with irony. It may be a little late for that now.
Bearded Git. You do know we still have freedom of thought, opinion and speech…right? Is is now a criminal offense, treason perhaps, to express concern that a government agency might have erred in the management of some aspects of a public health crisis?
Because it wouldn't be the first time.
Lightish reading for you…https://www.bwb.co.nz/books/health-people
I'd also like to know what agenda you think Rosemary has here.
Me too. I think Rosemary is right on the money here.
I would guess that they want to catch the asymptomatic people through contact tracing not through testing – it's way more efficient.
IWG 99% of Aucklanders are asymptomatic purely because they don't have the disease, they don't want to put all their testing resources into people with no evidence of disease instead of people with evidence of disease.
The sooner they find people with disease, the sooner they can get their contacts and find the asymptomatics.
[That being said, if you think for any reason that you should have a test then ring up healthline and get their advice.]
[That being said, if you think for any reason that you should have a test then ring up healthline and get their advice.]
People with symptoms but who don't meet the other criteria are being refused tests…especially by GPs. Because they don't tick the other boxes set by the Ministry.
Update…the MOH webpage has been revised…now saying anyone with symptoms should be tested and not adding on the 'confirmed case contact' or 'border contact' criteria.
because now we have community transmission, the criteria needs to change. Last week, if someone didn't have a plausible pathway of having been infected, what would be the point of testing?
And the change to testing everyone with symptoms was made at the same time as the alert level change.
As @mpledger says, they are relying on contact tracing (and dna testing) to fill the gaps in the other direction fast enough.
…if someone didn't have a plausible pathway of having been infected,
We've made the assumption there is no community transmission…how would we know if only symptomatic folk have been tested (other than close contacts of confirmed cases)? I have this growing suspicion that because of the previously very narrow criteria for testing, many cases have gone undetected.
Asking around the whanau and wider contacts, so many of us have had various symptoms and have experienced some of the sequelae being reported (https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/122255216/heres-what-we-know-so-far-about-the-longterm-symptoms-of-covid19) but ether did not get tested because we didn't meet the criteria du jour, or were refused a test from a GP and an initial public testing station swab came back negative so they didn't go back or a follow up test…which can show positive.
"We've made the assumption there is no community transmission"
I think the assumption from the government is that there was no known community transmission, which is a different thing.
I think they've done random community testing in places though.
If there was widespread latent community transmission, why have we not had a known outbreak before now?
that's a good explanation mpledger.
There’s also the issue of false negatives, which often gets ignored (…). This is not anybody’s fault, least of all MoH’s, but a simple fact/consequence of the testing methodology.
Just more reasons to keep borders shut for a bit.
Yes to closed borders for a bit longer, but was is the sort of cargo that must keep coming in on air freight?
I can understand some medicines but what else? Hopefully not trinkets and baubles….
Hopefully not trinkets and baubles….
Don't know about anyone else…but my laptop screen is littered with ads for such.
I have not as yet figured out how to quell them.
And I agree….close the borders….returning Kiwis only…no exceptions.
Or flag the whole extreme caution thing and treat it like any other cold.
I've bought a few things online that have come from overseas. After the initial lockdowns, I think NZ went back to BAU on that score (depending on overseas supplies).
Previously the advice was that package surfaces weren't a high risk. I'd guess it's more likely to be airline staff, and goods that are conducive to viruses surviving.
If ordinary parcels were a transmission vector, they would have shown up before now in tracing and testing.
Not necessarily. A teeny-tiny risk per parcel multiplied by millions or even billions of parcels can multiply together to make a big enough risk to the nation to take precautions against. That it hasn't been detected yet doesn't mean it hasn't or won't happen.
Food, and ingredients for food production come via freight.
A lot of furniture, clothes, cars, spare parts etc come via freight.
Medical goods come via freight.
Books, toys, stuff for the building industry all come in via freight and so on and so on. I mean it is a good time to go back to the 18 century, all of us pioneers and such, but really?
So please define trinkets and baubles. What do you not need and thus can be of no use to someone else. 🙂
My waters tell me there is a touch of the 1800s in our future. What an opportunity to pivot towards it.
Trinkets and baubles would include: nice to haves eg foreign fruit/vege, beef, pork, belgian hash browns, stuff that is bought without knowing it was needed, lots of electronic devices – teles, phones.
Surely we can build without too much input from overseas, wood, cement, screws, gib, corrugated iron locally sourced.
i am just glad you left out seasoning and salt from your list.
🙂
no thanks, this women does not want to go back to the good old days of the 1800s.
They were a damn sight more straight forward for blokes tho.
Illogical, everybody (!) has to undergo 14-day isolation upon arriving at the border and are tested twice and have to return a negative test before allowed to leave the facility.
Cos he's not Oprah, he can't say everybody gets a test.
Excuse my ignorance, but a lot of stats in this thread without sources, about asymptomatic cases, mild cases etc.
Here's a Radionz link on the latest from Auckland and the 'cold store' thing which I have just heard about.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/423401/live-auckland-enters-second-day-at-alert-level-3-rest-of-nz-at-level-2
Three more staff members at the Americold warehouse facility in Auckland have tested positive to coronavirus.
Americold Managing Director of Australia and NZ, Richard Winnall, says the three people worked alongside a man in his 50s who has already tested positive to the virus, ABC is reporting.
He says all staff from the facility are isolating.
newsense…https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2020/06/01/asymptomatic-patients
and yet this…http://www.emro.who.int/health-topics/corona-virus/transmission-of-covid-19-by-asymptomatic-cases.html
and again this…https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/transmission-of-sars-cov-2-implications-for-infection-prevention-precautions
and then this…https://theconversation.com/can-people-spread-the-coronavirus-if-they-dont-have-symptoms-5-questions-answered-about-asymptomatic-covid-19-140531
Has anyone figured out yet why the Govt. did not dissolve Parliament on schedule?
By not doing so they have opened up a nice big space for National to boost their dirty tricks into hyperdrive–and the technical possibility of a deferred election.
Some of the reasons are touched on here:
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/election-date-debate-collins-risks-alienating-voters-by-pressing-ardern/ar-BB17RpKS?li=BBqdg4K&ocid=mailsignout
In short, given the fast-evolving nature of the current crisis, some decisions and actions could work out better by having parliament still in place and able to do its job.
Several reasons.
If the community transmission had been discovered a few days later then the writ would have been issued, and everything would have been far more complicated.
Good points from Andre’s link and lprent’s learned view.
My subjective take is that National’s idea of co-operation in a crisis is still a “swift kick to the nuts” rather than anything too genuine. Simon Bridges demonstrated that in Covid round 1, and Mr Muller and Mrs Collins continued that approach.
True, but the dirty tricks seem to be driving their poll ratings down. High teens anyone??
If you believe Nick Smith, National are more worried about high teens after the referendum.
Yesterday Judith Collins said that her preference is for NZ to hold the election next year.
She may not realize it (the media haven't picked up on it yet) but she is actually calling for a whole raft of by-elections. Let's work through the consequences:
1. MPs who quit Parliament must be replaced. That was/is expected to happen at the coming election. No issue there.
2. But if the election is delayed until next year (which means at least March or April, there's no way you'd have one in January) then those MPs must return to Parliament.
3. Andrew Falloon cannot return, he is no longer an MP. So: Rangitata by-election.
4. All other MPs must return – or resign.
5. So Hamish Walker must return, in disgrace. Other electorate MPs who desperately wanted to get out, must come back instead (Dowie, Kaye, etc).
6. List MPs quit, no problem there. They are replaced by the next person on the list.
7. But if electorate MPs don't come back and continue to work, they must get leave to be absent. How long? Six months? Eight? Good luck explaining that one to the taxpayers, and the voters with no local MP.
8. By-elections are usually avoided when they are too close to an election date. So if we have a date in Oct/Nov 2020, there is still a problem (Walker and co getting extra weeks of paid vacation) but that's for them to explain to their voters.
9. But to delay until next year with no date means the current Parliament remains, indefinitely. So all electorate MPs must stay – or be replaced through a by-election.
Finally, look at the long, long list of National MPs who thought they were getting out now. Imagine them sitting in caucus for months and months, not wanting to be there. Imagine how they would feel about their leader. Imagine how long she would last …
There’s very inconsistent messaging from Judith Collins around all of this.
On the one hand, she wants more involvement in decision making.
On the other, she wants to delay the election.
She is sure that she will win the election,
and in doing so would have all the decision-making.
Why delay the election, Judith?
Codger's pretty keen on Reti being briefed. How leaky is Reti?
How long is a piece of string?
Sam Sachdeva, political editor from Newsroom, says, "National's deputy leader Gerry Brownlee outlined – unprompted – an allegedly suspicious series of events in recent weeks, as if joining the pieces of the puzzle with string on an overloaded pinboard."
That's how long a piece of string.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/the-paranoid-style-in-new-zealand-politics
I see that more as a piece of rope.
The politics of fear & doubt have always been tools in the populist’s toolkit.
And Gerry has always been too lazy to tie a knot.
Given enough rope you won’t need to tie a knot.
A passing urchin will oblige, guv. Always worked that way in his school days..
probably too fat too.
[please don’t post fat shaming comments here, thanks – weka]
Please don't do that. The guy has more than enough actions and character flaws to criticise.
mod note for you solkta.
yeh sorry weka, i couldn't resist that one.
Reti is on record as asking his constituents to hold their breath for 2.5 weeks. Which suggests that in his mind facts are less important than political calculation – so he'd leak like a sieve. Perhaps I am being unfair though, and his being (as Judith was so keen to point out) "Harvard educated", means that he has access to some higher order knowledge than the rest of us?
As is Shane Jones…..
My brother went to Oxford … worked at the car factory in Cowley.
(No.94 in a series of old Monty Python jokes)
te reo putake wrote @ 4.1.1.2.1.1
"My brother went to Oxford … worked at the car factory in Cowley.
(No.94 in a series of old Monty Python jokes)"
I like it te reo
If we are going to bring up old jokes my favourite is from Morcom & Wise
"I don't have to worry about money as my family is in Iron and Steel
Mother does the ironing and Father does the stealing.
….and John Darby
Imagine the trouble Bennett will cause of mean ole Judith forces her to delay her grand entrance into the private sector? I mean she’s probably got all the New Idea cover photos done!
I'd actually forgotten that both Bennett and Adams were still electorate MPs, because they both announced ages ago that they would move to the list (i.e. before the big meltdown).
So, National-held electorates whose MP doesn't want to be there, or who the National party doesn't want:
Auckland Central. Upper Harbour. East Coast. Otaki. Wairarapa. Selwyn. Southland. Invercargill (plus Rangitata, no MP at all). Any others?
And Judith thinks they are all happy to stay in Parliament, for at least another six months.
1 counted 10 Nats – Falloon, Adams, Kaye, Scott, Guy, Barry, Dowie, Bennett, Tolley, Walker.
Plus 3 Lab – ILG, Dyson and Curran.
I may have missed a couple?
Maybe National didn't think about those things.
I can't see any reason to put the election off at this stage. We may be back in consistent L1 by then. What would be the point of making the decision now?
They know it's all hypothetical. Just feeds into their tactic of sowing doubt. Arseholes.
why should those that are on 'leave' get more then the mandated 4 weeks?
Honestly how quickly do you think all these National MPs that are trying like hell to get out would raise a stink of epic proportions in order to get out? Would Mrs. Oravida survive this actually?
I mean, lets not have an election for a year….i don't think that the current coalition would do much different that they did up until now. So i can't see that as a real negative for them. But for National it would mean to have to work and live with people who want out and if they choose not to return would / should be on unpaid leave for the duration. They would not like that one bit.
It would give JC and National a much-needed stay of execution. I don’t think JC and National would be averse to some really dirty guerrilla political warfare on the ground; it would suit them down to the ground, as they cannot beat JA by attacking her head-on.
Mind if we convert this into a guest post? It captures so many problems for the opposition …
Already passed around this morning by people without a linkback – eg: https://twitter.com/publicaddress/status/1293675890904199168
@mickysavage
No problem, and feel free to edit/amend as you wish. I'm not sure what the exact rules are on by-elections close to an election, or the 75% rule. Might need to check on that.
Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if the PM announces a short delay to the election soon, but still within the 3 year term. I'd really like her to announce that there is no way the government (or just Labour) would vote to extend into next year, in which case Judith's fantasy couldn't happen (obviously there's no 75% vote without Labour). But we'll see.
Good piece today on RNZ that covered the ins and outs
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018759298/should-the-election-be-delayed
Our media pick up what they're told to. They're busy breathing life into the tinfoil hat agenda whilst akl has this outbreak.
They continue to serve the owners not the people.
Collins is being a Dick just like Bridges
Crikey! Kim has just given one of her full-on interview with the abject Judith. Except that Judith is in denial and as usual doubled down on everything. A must listen to when it comes on.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018759286
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018759286/covid-19-judith-collins-hits-back-at-grant-robertson-after-he-called-opposition-claims-nonsense
[second link added – weka]
ianmac…yes another Dame Hill classic…..wonderful….she should be cloned.
Yes, that was devastating from Kim. She is not in the slightest awed by Collins and is happy to eviscerate her repeatedly.
Not the best interviewer to try and put one over.
All Codger had to do was stop lying. Could she do that? The fcuk she could.
Eviscerate. Is that a gardening term?
If Collins has a better management plan then I want to hear it. I would actually listen to her alternative then I could judge for myself.
Hill needed to ask Collins to put out an alternative Covid management plan.
Collins would then say that she is not the government so not responsible and Collins would keep attacking a government and an PM who are giving it their all.
Kim Hill on good form
If you have 13 minutes, a damn good use of your attention. Brilliant example of not taking shit from an evasive, dishonest interviewee.
Finally someone holding Collins to account.
Collins displaying all that self entitlement that the National Party portrays on a daily basis.
Collins and Brownlee are only seat warmers, they'll have "Leader and Deputy Leader" on their CVs, finally after 2 decades or more of being basically Incompetent.
Yeah, I heard that. Kim Hill ripped the shit out of Collins. Watch your back Kim Hill because if the Tories get in with Collins in charge, you will be gone burger by lunchtime after that classic.
I listened to that and I feel somewhat ill.
Judith Collins is a truly vile person and should come with a health warning.
Kim v Collins on Morning Report. Astonishing.
Stench of serious corruption wafting from NZTA:
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/nzta-lashed-for-retrospective-tender
The transportation infrastructure industry and its procurers certainly appear to have more than their fair share of outright corruption here in New Zealand. There was also that Auckland Council thing not too long ago …
Newsroom are not wrong to accuse NZTA of hiding the report.
All they would need to do is wait for this Friday – or any other Covid status change day.
Stench well buried.
Here's at least one reporter challenging Collins and Brownlees behavior regarding their outlandish statements designed scare the public.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/the-paranoid-style-in-new-zealand-politics
I hope Brownlee's smirk at the end of his part of yesterday’s press conference goes viral as a classic piece of body language being more truthful than the words uttered.
Another great piece of smirkery was in the final week of Parliament when Winston Peters asked a supplementary question of the PM and then, before he sat down, looked across at the National front bench and gave the smallest of smirks.
It said, "Gotcha," "Take that" and "If you think I want to join political forces with you, get another opinion".
Brownlee didn’t raise an eyebrow, did he?
He did……. with me!
He almost got to nano-robots in vaccines taking instructions from the UN via 5G and bending us to the will of the Wicked One as foretold in the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion"
So Brownlee may have missed out the impact of the Lizard people then? What is the use of having a conspiracy theory if you leave off a vital part of it?
Sorry, Shanreagh, but I don't believe in the Lizard people. The little people, yes, but lizards can stay under rocks.
I hope support and wrap around services are in place for the affected family and friends. This "It is costing Auckland $400 000 a week" is like that is the only cost.
This family could be impacted for months, their mental health and well being must be impacted by all the 'should have-could have' comments.
We had all stopped distancing, felt safe and happy. How shattered their world is.
I live in Rotorua, so feel anxious again. This is a sneaky virus, which doesn't discriminate. The people concerned are needing kindness and cooperation in the face of a community threat.
They are sure to be checking and rechecking lists of where they went, when and who they spent time with. A bloody nightmare.
The country was on vacation and the vacation is over.
Probably level 3 in Rotorua in the next day or two. I would not outrule else where going to level 3. Doing the stuff that works (wearing masks, testing, contacting tracing, isolating, being kind to yourself and others). This will make a difference.
My guess is level four if the staff that worked at the eatery that the person from auckland went to comes through infected. And in saying that it might be the easiest to just shut it all down again.
The best way is to stay in level 3 permanently. Guidough in Rotorua did just that. He never came out of Level 3, no on gets in the business, curbside trading only. I do the same.
Pretend you are in Level three, and if worried, or if someone at high risk, call and order in and have delivered. Specially in Rotorua the businesses have been great about this. The community has been great about this.
I am feeling much saver here then in AKL.
As for the family, it sucks to be them, but in the end it was just an accident waiting to happen. I hope they get enough money to pay the bills, and keep their homes, and then can go back to work. If at this stage in the year 2020 people want to stigmatise others for catching a disease at work, they should be called out for it and loudly so.
This is NOT a sneaky virus, to say so is to say that the virus makes conscious decisions on its behaviour !!!
Giving human characteristics to animals, inanimate objects or natural phenomena is a human trait called “to anthropomorphize.” Sadly, as in the tragic Sea World attack the proclivity is forgotten as we wonder why the animal behaved as an animal.
I am yet to read any commentary that the virus was already here present within NZ, and if so then that raises the question that part of our response to this resurgence could be inappropriate or mis guided i.e we are seeking a solution to the wrong question.
That Q has been addressed and put to rest by Dr Bloomfield and also by Professor Shaun Hendy IIRC. There are loads of smart cookies in the room and the chances that they have overlooked something so basic are very small IMHO. But we still have the doubters, cynics, and ‘sceptics’ …
yes, and us sceptics, cycincs, and doubters were all proven correct this week with our keeping up social distancing, keeping our bubbles real small, keeping up with the sanitizing, scanning of the app etc etc etc.
One can do an excellent job and still listen to the doubters the cycnics and the sceptics and if only to not get complacent and smug.
As Treetop said, the country went on vacation, got a little smug and boom…..here we go again.
I wasn’t talking about the country, I was talking about the smart people in the room. Even the most radical conspiracy theorist can ‘strike gold’ once but this doesn’t mean we should give them any oxygen. This isn’t about Cynics-Doubters vs. MoH-Experts 1 – 0.
The conspiracy according to Judith on rnz this morning with Kim Hill is ousted in this telling part.
JUDITH "..and it absolutely does not have any credibilty to suggest that after being told that we have102 days of no Covid19 in community transmission, suddenly it appears, and no responsibilty taken and no looking at how it.. ( Hill interupts)."
How did Judith or anyone think that Covid19 would re-appear if not SUDDENLY , slowly and overtly ???
Yes Judith, Covid19 a microscopic entity, comes up the front path, knocks at your door with a name badge on and politely asks, ' Can, I come in please? '.
Or Covid arrived by another plausible manner-: A Natz supporter illegally brings into the country a 'parcel' ; same mode as rabbit calicivirus transmission in 1997.
More plausible because Judith stated, we will do 'whatever we have to' to get power back.
Otherwise this explanation for Judith might have gone over her head about remaining vigilant.
I recall most of those 102 days on updates a message of sorts was always given to act safely not be complacent, get tested, get the tracing app. So where does the Natz "suddenly" theory come from?
In NZ, following WHO directives also and alerted by worldwide resurgence, ( nutters holding the likes of 'Covid parties'), the NZ Government in line with MOH undertakes proactive preparations and ad campaigns. Is remaining prepared Judith's conspiracy?
Some seem keen to turn the conspiracy theories back onto Judith, Gerry, and the National Party. We only need to look overseas to see where that gets us, i.e. further away from discerning truth.
You can't rule anything out at this stage. We will never discern the truth if all scenarios are not explored, however unlikely.
Sabotage can’t be discounted, surely.
Not all scenarios are equal and wasting time & effort on chasing after “all scenarios” is a well-known and effective diversion tactic. Politics is about the effective and efficient distribution and use of resources. If the political process is flawed or hijacked then the outcome(s) of that process are likely to be sub-optimal at best.
It might not even have been orchestrated by the National Party.
We have seen how extreme right wing terrorists, with psychopathic vigilante action, take matters into their own hands.
The process during a crisis is somewhat different than otherwise. Good urgent decision-making relies on ruthless focus and discarding chaff. Anybody muddying the waters tends to get excluded. Collins can whinge all she likes from outside the bunker door.
Plan B
Them as well. #spurned
Fact, two persons on individual occasions have now attempted to break into Q facilities? What were their objectives other than being with malintent towards the safety of others?
Sex, I would think.
Or drugs or rock’n’roll.
Shaun Hendy … he of the school of stating the bleeding obvious, overestimation and lockdown extensions.
Meanwhile the outpatient waiting times increase, elective surgeries are cancelled and we're back in catch up mode. ……FFS not happy.
Yes a problem and how to fix it safely and not unique to NZ.
Designated hospitals for surgery and cancer treatment/diagnosis which cannot be postponed.
The health system has been tested and any weakness of it is shown during a pandemic.
Pathetic response that suggests you have a chip on your shoulder and not heard of Science Communication. I can send you some of Hendy’s peer-reviewed scientific articles and see how far you get with understanding those.
I don’t think anybody is happy about the most recent turn of events. Talking of stating the bleeding obvious.
🙄
Hendy and his colleagues have already saved more lives this year than you or I will ever do. Some of us respect that for what it is.
Bollocks ………Sean and his colleagues have saved exactly no lives this year nor would he claim they had.
The models his group have provided to the Ministry of Health have been useful in the Minstry's decision making processes around reaction to Covid 19.
Its characteristics are sneaky in that some or even most carriers are asymptomatic. That makes it elusive and difficult to stop.
Random impertinent questions
Have those working in isolation facilities and at the border been subject to testing for Covid 19 over the last 3 months , if not why not?
Has there been regular testing of waste water and effluent over the last 3 months for Covid 19 ?
Yes to the first point. All retested this week after the outbreak according to those that work in one.
Follow up question then – why hasn't this been undertaken at regular periods over the last several months ?
If what I'm hearing from my sources in the higher echelons of ADHB is correct regarding new cases outside of Auckland (I sincerely hope it is incorrect) there looks to have been a catastrophic failure of border and quarantine controls..
catastrophic and higher echelons of ADHB often belong in the same sentence. watch granny they seem to know first.
LOL … very true
If indeed there has been a “catastrophic failure of border and quarantine controls..” what have “your sources in the higher echelons of ADHB” done about it? Go and ask them instead and report back here when you’ve got the answers, thanks. Ask Dr Siouxsie about testing of wastewater and effluent. I'm sure you have requisite computer skills to find her contact details.
ADHB aren't in charge of the border or quarantine facilities, it's the MoH and the chap in the military uniform.
Likewise Siouxsie Wiles is not in charge of effluent monitoring it will be the likes of ESR in collaboration with the MoH – if indeed it is happening.
Stunned Mullet the Ministry of Health is only an advisory organization it has been gutted years ago by Tory govts .DHB's do all the work.
Facts not fiction please.
covid can show up after not showing in all the quarantine tests, it's tricky like that. So it doesn't necessarily follow that quarantine was breached IMO
Your attempt at diversion has been noted and coupled with your refusal to answer any of my questions shows you’re not commenting here in good faith.
Just to help you in the right direction:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/420544/auckland-waste-water-plan-may-breach-tikanga-expert
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300046158/coronavirus-government-to-test-sewage-at-managed-isolation-facilities
https://www.hrc.govt.nz/news-and-events/exploring-aucklands-sewers-antibiotic-resistant-superbugs
Google is your friend.
Is that 'catastrophic' in the Mullerine sense?
Valid question.
"It said there is a programme of daily health checks, and any staff member who reports symptoms consistent with Covid-19 must stay at home, get tested and self-isolate until they receive the result of their test.
The ministry is also undertaking regular asymptomatic surveillance testing of people working in border-facing roles, including those at managed isolation and quarantine facilities, particularly those who have direct contact with international crew and travellers.
There is testing available on-site for staff every two to three weeks. "
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018758505/border-workers-need-unlimited-sick-leave-professor-shaun-hendy
The ministry said it will continue to review how often the tests are needed.
Valid answer 🙂
I had kinda gone off of Bill Maher, but if he consistently lifts his game back up to the level of this mock eulogy for the fake-tan fuhrer, I might warm to him again.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bill-maher-response-trump-insult-tweet_n_5f34478dc5b6fc009a60eb67
That was brutal and funny
Someone should do one for the National Party
So some people have been posting that flights from Auckland have been landing at Queenstown this morning with holiday-makers offloading ….
Does anyone know if this is right? And if it is right, it should be wrong?
Thanks in anticipation…
edit: govt website is silent on domestic flights and this issue…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/122421076/coronavirus-auckland-airport-outlines-rules-for-travellers-under-covid19-alert-level-3
Hmmm, maybe it got mixed up with this… https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/queenstown/auckland-arrivals-symptoms-booking-covid-tests-queenstown but still sounds like they have been arriving post-level 3 lockdown.
Thanks sabine
No contradiction – if you already had a flight booked from Akl to Queenstown then you can still board it. Good to read that some travellers are prepared to change their plans once there if needed.
Que?
"if you already had a flight booked from Akl to Queenstown then you can still board it"
and if you already booked to drive from Akl to Coromandel then you can still drive it?
There is a whole ding dong funny thing going on here which doesn't stack up. People are unnecessarily flying to Qtn (and no doubt others).
One is traceable by authorities, the other less so. How do you ‘book’ a drive to your bach?
the 'booking' part is irrelevant to either the flight or the drive
isn't it?
or are you allowed to leave auckland if you have 'booked' something, but not if you haven't? I wonder if the virus knows this..
Contact-tracing.
Why would you ‘book’ your own bach, mid-week, mid-Winter, in the Coromandel?
I hope some people did decide to cancel their flight. But that's not what they are being required to do.
So Auckland is not locked in then. You can fly out.
It seems every time there is something put in place it has huge holes in it for the virus to scamper around…. sheesh this is brainless
Rich folk love them some loopholes.
There's a privately owned helicoptor which has been flying backwards and forwards between Auckland and Northland for 2 days now. Looks like it originates from somewhere in East Auckland.
Rich folk avoiding the police roadblocks and fleeing Auckland by air to their holiday mansions up north?
Where there's a will, there's an inheritance.
Queenstown is home to so many who found themselves, somehow, in Auckland?
Home?
you be surprised how many Aucklanders lived out level 4 in rotorua in their 'second home'.
Coromandel was packed.
Pretty sure that ODT article started yesterday and got updated and ended up with today’s date on it. They interview people who refer to leaving before mid day, so were ok
it seems that people have cancelled flights
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/300081425/an-eerie-experience-thousands-of-air-new-zealand-cancellations-result-in-nearempty-flights
Last place I'd want to be right now is on a plane.
Predictions for covid levels announcement tomorrow.
Auckland – Level 4 lockdown for 3 weeks minimum.
Rest of North Island – Level 3
South Island – Level 2
i'll see yours and rasie
Auckland Level 4 – 3 weeks – starting tomorrow
Rotorua Level 4 – 3 weeks – starting Sat – wednesday (exposure to the infected person by Staff at Fat Dog, Burger Fuel, Gondola, Red Woods etc etc etc)
if another case is found in Taupo / Tauranga etc, North Island level 4 – 3 weeks – Wednesday
South Island – see rest of North Island. – Wednesday.
Oh well it was good while it last.
Yep, forgot Rotorua. Level 4 same as Auckland if a positive test is found.
If they had any sense they would stop all travel between islands right now .
Very easy to keep a good chunk open
many flights out of akl cancelled
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/300081425/an-eerie-experience-thousands-of-air-new-zealand-cancellations-result-in-nearempty-flights
ir New Zealand has seen “thousands” of cancellations since Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Auckland would go back into level 3 lockdown, and the rest of the country would move to alert level 2 following new cases of community transmission of Covid-19.
That seems to be a point of discussion bwaghorn – I heard that at the supermarket in Nelson yesterday.
If this outbreak was in Canterbury I'd be mighty pissed if it made it to the north island. So I bet the mainlanders will feel the same
It's bringing out unkind remarks about Auckland and Jafas
I would be very surprised if Level 4 lockdown is implemented in Auckland it achieves little more than Level 3 in terms of Covid control and has very negative economic consequences and politically I'm not sure it would be wise.
Now that the Wellington case looks like a false positive I'd wait for overnight testing results if there is little to no upwards/downwards transmission outside of the current cluster there may even be a relaxation in restrictions.
I suppose it depends on whether they find new cases not attached to the known cluster. I hope you're right, though, I'm supposed to settle my house sale and purchase on 2/9, and leave Hamilton for the South Island.
Good luck with the sale and move south … where are you moving to in the SI ?
Thanks, too expensive to move my junk, so I'm in the process of giving all my furniture and stuff to the Vinnies. Moving really light – just a car full of clothes, kettle and essentials, so shouldn't be much of a hassle, though it’s only a MX-5.
I'm moving to that house for sale just down the road from greywarshark to get the supermarket tongues a wagging lol
But seriously, Westport on the West coast. Damian O' electorate vote, party vote green.
Da ding ding ding ding ding ding .
Cool I'd love to do the same one day.
Couriering my TV, PC and music stuff, so foresight I always keep the boxes and packaging, but everything else is going. I did the same when I last moved, bar the fridge and two beds, but this time it's all going.
A lady just came to pick up my old washing machine and it felt stink to find out they'd charged her $80 for it. If I'd have been really on to it, I would have advertised it on notice boards for free.
Westcoast .. beautiful part of the country, I'm sure you can't wait..
I might have to 'cause covid, but yeah, waiting since months ago.
I thought you'd already move. Good to hear it's happening soon, and not a bad time of year to set up there.
Seems to have dragged on, but then it only really got serious once I found out I was being laid off after the wage subsidy runs out, so it focused my mind somewhat. Been a couple on months (or more) from offer to settlement.
Bought sight unseen (other than agents ad photos), though I did get an excellent builders report, so even though a bit fingers crossed, I'm not worried about it.
I am jealous Al1en. I had a chance to move from this overrated and overcrowded shithole called Hamilton 15 years ago to Oamaru. One of the worse decisions I made by staying here and more concerned about making money instead of retiring gracefully and moving. Good luck pal I am sure you will not regret moving to the SI.
I hear you, and while I don't actively dislike Hamilton (that much), it hasn't really given me a reason to stay put.
First choice was Golden bay, but Westport was much more affordable, so won out. Finally I'll have a 1/4 acre section, which may not be the kiwi dream anymore, but it's long been mine. Hoping to do it justice.
Let's say they are all symptomatic. Average distance between parked cars – 5m. Average number of people in each – 1.25. Average length of queue at each of Auckland's 15 testing stations – 500m.
1875 symptomatic people doing voluntary testing in Auckland just this morning.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300078922/live-three-new-positive-covid19-tests-at-americold-warehouse-in-auckland-director-says
The reports of the long time they have to spend waiting is bad. Six hours? There at 6 when it doesn't open till 8 am to make sure. Another yesterday at 6ish and long long wait. Must do better with this.
No half measures. Good.
Australia's Northern Territory will be closed to visitors from virus hotspots for a further 18 months to protect its large and vulnerable Aboriginal population, authorities said Tuesday.
The sparsely populated northern region is home to roughly 250,000 people — 30 percent of whom are Aboriginal — according to government figures.
"We'll have our hard border controls in place for at least the next 18 months. And we're resourcing so we can do that," Chief Minister Michael Gunner told public broadcaster ABC.
https://news.yahoo.com/australias-northern-region-face-virus-040901347.html
that is excellent. Let's hope the various authorities resource supporting the communities as well as policing them.
Suddenly, Natz dangerous, ignorant dissent is catchy –
the immediate response ' lets get it spreading groups' protesting in NZ's vulnerable communities.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12356284
Arrest them and send them to an island where they can be together. Trouble is that if we have any empty islands we are trying to make them bird sanctuaries. This lot would kill 'em and eat 'em raw. So no good that idea.
Hard to take anything led by this thug seriously.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/114332109/man-charged-with-assaulting-dr-lance-osullivan-appears-in-court
Crack up! Go on joe90 you know you want to do it, just do it…write that eulogy now.
Positive deviance is effective.
thug attacking another thug.
Has O'Sullivan been charged with assault?
he was the one being attacked. This time. Another time he's throwing a brick through a car window. Tory authoritarian as far as I can see.
One difference between Boynton and O'Sullivan might be class.
The difference might be that O'Sullivan gets riled up but is also busy trying to do good things for needy people, the other is a person who belongs to a group that have legitimate grievances from the past, and are better at growing them than anything else. Bet they haven't been the ones growing the illicit marijuana up there for decades. That requires real work.
that's quite a hefty judgement. What are you basing that on?
General knowledge. Do you have to comment on everything that is written up?
ok, I'll take that as making shit up.
If you don't want to talk with me why bother replying to something I've said?
Indeed. A yawning gap between a previous offender with a fondness for using his fists and someone who, despite a rush of blood for which he was discharged with no convictions, has gotten off his arse and delivered free medical clinics, school-based health services and an initiative to improve housing.
authoritarians do nice things too.
They have a bloody cheek flying the United Tribes flag. Hapu up here have been staunch in enforcing lockdown measures.
Agreed there. It angers me that so called leadership at the top levels ( Natz) role modelled 'dissent' and division in the first instance as a very public response.
This Natz immediate public response was not about care for anyone or Judith's ass covering, slithering excuses given today on Kim Hill's rnz segment.
The intent was dangerous Trumpism play for her air space. She flouted Auckland travel restrictions and found herself suddenly superfluous flapping around like granny knickers on the line.
Thus, if it's okay for Judith to protest with her whackjob minions….
If Natz want their airwaves to campaign (then as the article says may happen ) join the protest in Auckland Saturday. Get out there you cowardly Natz and greet, kiss, hug and rub shoulders with the crowds.
More potential infections in the hundreds in one go but hey Judith could grab the podium she craves.
Europe's last dictator.
https://twitter.com/ASLuhn/status/1293144073814118400
https://twitter.com/AlexKokcharov/status/1293563045709590528
https://twitter.com/JulianRoepcke/status/1293520698988793856
Herodotus @ 11.3 ( I can't get the reply button to work)
“The virus is not sneaky”
So on your grounds 'The virus is not tricky" either?
From al my searches I cannot locate a definition of sneaky that can apply to the virus's "actions"
You could use tricky. Not sure what that has to do with your original statement. "This is a sneaky virus"
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/sneak
Oh.
China’s Shenzhen Discovers Coronavirus in Brazil Poultry Product (8:45 a.m. HK)
A sample of a frozen chicken wing imported from Brazil tested positive for coronavirus in China’s Shenzhen city, according to a statement from the local government.
Virus tests of people who have possibly come into contact with the product — and tests of related products — all came back negative, the government said.
Earlier, the outside of an Ecuador frozen shrimp package tested positive for coronavirus in a restaurant in Wuhu, a city in China’s Anhui province, state television CCTV reported.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-12/u-s-cases-climb-1-1-trump-pressures-schools-virus-update
Not very infectious when frozen then?
Defrost in the Microwave maybe?
Irradiate, you say..
6G
No sneeze when freeze and they’re headless anyway.
I wonder…
https://www.americold.co.nz/home/facilities/
Scroll a bit down and they are happy announcing their new relationship with Brazil.
looks like level 3 for north island friday 11:59 and possible level 4 for auckland unless they find the rest of the close contacts tomorrow.
watch the economy tank.
[You might well be right but unless you can provide a reliable link, I assume you’re fearmongering. I’ve put you in Pre-Moderation until you put up something decent to support your ‘prediction’ or admit that it is a fidget of your imagination – Incognito]
I hope you are not politicising a serious health crisis.
Confused cynically spreading Hysteria.
Listening to Bloomfield today it is most likely things will continue as is
This "news" update was brought to you by JudCo Media (A subsidiary of Oravida Entertainment)
What's more important?
People's health or rich people getting richer off of other people's work?
See my Moderation note @ 4:58 PM.
i cant say how I know that, obviously. so i guess im sitting here.
[All your comments need to be manually approved before they appear in the front-end. Alternatively, they are moved to the Trash folder in the back-end.
Are you telling me you made it all up and that you have no way of knowing? Not even an argument as to why you think that way? Just BS? – Incognito]
See my third and last Moderation note to you tonight @ 11:05 PM.
Nope – I heard from someone with direct knowledge. But I'm not department dropping here.
[So, we have no way of verifying your rumour and you have not provided any decent argument either as to why you think your rumour may come true; you need to argue your point(s), not just spray & walkaway , as usual. Moved to the Blacklist until Monday – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 8:48 AM.
Don't know about elsewhere but here in Wellington it feels close to level 4 already. Very very quiet.
same here in Rotorua.
Very very few people on the streets.
Like a morgue here in Whanganui.
Some late night music.
Bill Wurtz – St Helens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHZr6P1csiY
Are the number of commenters here getting up on the reactionaries over at Kiwiblog?
Nope, not by a long shot.
Big stomachs bring on heart attacks and reactions to threats to your comfort, no matter how small ( the comfort).
Our modern Left is scared primarily, but if we can deliver fear will dissolve. It's the only way for what's right.
May I just say I don't care about this 'deadly flu', as I described it to my dear but non-talking v.old mother. Compared to climate change … Christ help us.
https://youtu.be/5Yj4j_lZMBo