One year on from Aotearoa New Zealand’s longest covid-19 lockdown, an epidemiologist says further lockdowns cannot be ruled out, instead preparing to do them better.

On 17 August 2021, New Zealand went to alert level 4 because the deadly delta variant had arrived.

Aucklanders had no idea that day that they would still be in lockdown until December, and that after 18 months of trying to keep covid-19 out, it would be here to stay.

• READ MORE: Covid-19 update in NZ: 16 further deaths, 4489 new community cases
• Other NZ covid reports

The city was asked to hold the line so the country could get vaccinated, something critics said should have happened much earlier.

Auckland University epidemiologist Professor Rod Jackson was vocal in urging the country to aim high and vaccinate more than 95 percent of eligible people.

Reflecting back, he said New Zealanders responded well, with most areas hitting that mark or higher by the measurements at the time.

Much had been learnt about the virus — and how to respond to it — since then, with the highly contagious but less harmful omicron variant changing everything at the start of this year, he said.

But the danger was not over.

Random severity of variants
“I think there are a lot of people who think, ‘oh look, it’s getting less severe over time so we’re fine,’ but it’s pretty random whether the next variant is going to be less severe or not,” he said.

Either way, it would need to be at least as spreadable as omicron to take over, he said.

The government has said lockdowns are not part of any future covid-19 plans, with the traffic light system taking its place.

But Professor Jackson said that may not “cut the mustard” if the worst happened.

“If we get a new mutation that is more severe, that kills more people, then we’ve got something huge to worry about,” he said.

“If that happens, if people start dropping dead in the street like the original version of covid, we will have little choice but to lock down.”

That was why the country still needed to be prepared for the worst, he said.

Frontline of delta outbreak
As an Auckland GP and co-leader of Te Rōpū Whakakaupapa Urutā, Dr Rawiri McKree-Jansen was at the frontline of the delta outbreak and lockdown and the vaccine rollout.

Some Māori and Pacific health teams had initially struggled to be given the resources they needed, or to be listened to.

The work they were able to do for their communities and the country showed what they were capable of and should be a lasting legacy, Dr McKree-Jansen said.

They were crucial to the vaccine roll out and helped the most vulnerable, especially those isolating.

“The mobilisation was impressive, relentless and co-ordinated,” he said.

“Those features are remarkable and give us a great sense of optimism about the contribution that Māori communities and Māori health professionals can make and I hope that is enduring.”

When it came to new variants, he said while it was important to be vigilant about what may come next, it was also important to focus on what was happening now.

“Omicron’s not done with us yet … I’m keen that we don’t forget the lessons we’ve learnt from the Delta and Omicron outbreaks – and supporting communities is fundamental to that.”

Both Professor Jackson and Dr McKree-Jansen acknowledged the people who had died since pandemic began, many more since the omicron outbreak that reached so many people.

But they said they were also grateful that many were protected by the lockdown and the vaccine rollout.

16 more people die
RNZ News reports that another 16 people with covid-19 have died and there are 4489 new community cases today, according to the Ministry of Health.

There are 496 people in hospital, 13 of them are in a high dependency unit

Yesterday the ministry reported another 21 people with covid-19 had died and there were 533 people in hospital, including 12 in intensive care or a high dependency unit.

Deputy Director-General and Public Health Agency head Dr Andrew Old told media this afternoon that modelling from Covid Modelling Aotearoa showed New Zealand was continuing to track at the lower end of what was expected in terms of a second wave this winter.

“We passed a peak in cases earlier that the modelling suggested and now hospitalisations are also declining suggesting these too have peaked. It’s sitting somewhere between 800 and 850 occupied beds across the country in late July,” he said.

Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand interim national medical director Dr Pete Watson said the recent drop in covid-19 cases was an encouraging trend.

“By each one of us sticking to public health measures we are making a difference,” he said.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Covid-19 restrictions for all of New Zealand will ease from midnight tonight but a leading epidemiologist says the country is divided over its risk

From 11.59pm tonight, all of New Zealand moves into the orange traffic light setting, Covid-19 Reponse Minister Chris Hipkins announced today.

He said the change in alert levels was justified for several reasons, including an ongoing decline in cases.

• READ MORE: Covid-19: All of NZ to move to orange setting from 11.59pm tonight
• Other NZ covid outbreak reports

He said case numbers now sit below 10,000 new cases per day for the first time since February 24, and that hospitalisations in Auckland were lower, with all three DHBs each reporting fewer than 100 patients for the first time since late February.

Epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker told RNZ Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan the move was reasonable for Auckland, which peaked almost six weeks ago.

“But that’s not the situation in the rest of New Zealand and particularly the South Island, even some DHBs in the North Island, like Northland and some of the others in the central North Island, are still seeing case numbers reported yesterday that were about 50 percent of their peak.

“So we are quite divided in terms of risk.”

Face masks out in schools
Under the orange setting, face masks are still required in some environments but not in schools.

Professor Baker said that with only 20 percent of younger students fully vaccinated, without masks there are not many barriers that stopped the virus circulating.

“And we do know anecdotally a lot of the way this virus is getting from one family to another is through transmission at school so this seems like a gap at the orange level.”

Hipkins said schools have been provided with guidance, and they have access to public health guidance so they can consider the advice for themselves.

“Ultimately looking at a school by school basis, in some schools there is still a very strong justification for masks — but not all.

“It is very challenging for schools, it has proven to be one of the most challenging covid-19 requirements.”

People who are young, healthy, fully vaccinated and boosted should be getting out much more because the risk from the infection is much less, Professor Baker said.

High vaccine coverage
“We know now of high vaccine coverage, we’ve actually pushed the fatality rate from this infection now to down to less than, it’s about 0.05 percent which is in a similar range now to seasonal flu — but it’s only because we’re highly vaccinated.”

Prior to vaccination there was a fatality risk of 0.5 percent, he said.

Te Pūnaha Matatini modeller Professor Michael Plank said: “It’s a good time to be relaxing the traffic light settings when cases and hospitalisations are declining in almost all parts of the country.”

Professor Plank is partly funded by the Department of Prime Minister and cabinet for research on mathematical modelling of covid-19.

“We have successfully flattened the curve of this Omicron wave — although hospitalisations and staff absences have put intense strain on our healthcare system, things would have been even worse without our efforts to slow the spread.”

While New Zealand is marking the end of its omicron sprint, it is at the beginning of its marathon, Professor Baker said.

“Covid-19 isn’t going to go away and we are very likely to have further waves of infection as immunity wanes, people’s behaviour gets back to normal, and new variants arrive,” he said.

“As we move away from restrictions and mandates, we need to work on a long-term, sustainable set of mitigations. This should include vaccines, high-quality surveillance systems, a focus on clean air indoors, and financial support for people to isolate when sick.”

Hybrid office/home set-up
With a change in restrictions, Victoria University of Wellington and Umbrella Wellbeing clinical psychologist Dr Dougal Sutherland says the government will no longer encourage working from home.

But Dr Sutherland warned there may be psychological consequences for workplaces encouraging their people to return in person.

Flexibility and agility will be key for adjusting to this new normal, he said.

“It seems likely many people will continue working from home, at least some of the time.

“This presents a challenge to organisations about how they create psychologically safe teams in a dispersed environment. There is also the challenge of how to support people with different levels of anxiety associated with increased human contact.

“Research shows that allowing people to work from home a few days a week is associated with better wellbeing and productivity, so allowing workers to continue a hybrid office/home set-up should be encouraged.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

New variants of SARS-CoV-2 have now evaded New Zealand’s border protections twice to spread into the community.

In the most recent outbreak on Sunday, which placed Auckland into an alert level 3 lockdown, there are three active community cases of the more infectious B.1.1.7 lineage.

While we have seen the virus mutate over the entire course of the pandemic, it was not until mid-December 2020 that variants with measurably different behaviour emerged.

• READ MORE: Why the COVID-19 variants are so dangerous and how to stop them spreading
  
• Chris Hipkins: ‘Good sign’ with no new Covid-19 cases overnight and no evidence of community spread

There are several reasons for this, including the continued exponential rise in cases globally. Every covid-19 case gives the virus a chance to mutate, and if the number of infections continues to rise, more new variants are likely to emerge.

Pressure to mutate
The genetic code of SARS-CoV-2 is a string of RNA of about 30,000 bases, or letters. When the virus enters our cells, it hijacks them to make thousands of copies of itself, but the copying process is not perfect.

Mistakes, or mutations, happen on average once every couple of weeks in any chain of transmission. Most are changes in a single letter and don’t result in a notable difference, but some will change the physical form of the virus, with possible knock-on effects to how the new variant behaves.

We know about these variants thanks to the sequencing efforts from different countries and their open sharing of this knowledge. The variants that have arisen recently — known as B.1.1.7 (first identified in the UK), B.1.351 (identified in South Africa) and P.1 (identified in Brazil) — all have a large number of mutations that have physically altered the virus.

A number of these changes are on the outside of the virus, in the spike proteins it uses to infect cells. Such changes can also undermine our immune system’s ability to detect these new versions of the virus when it has only seen the old version.

The most obvious reason why new variants have been emerging recently is that the number of global cases increased massively in the last quarter of 2020. There were about 35 million cases recorded worldwide in the first nine months of 2020, but it took just two months to double that number. We are well on the way to doubling that number again soon.

Evading rising levels of immunity
A second reason is that the virus is responding to immunity that has started to build up in the population. Our immune system plays an important role in driving which mutations survive and are transmitted.

The immune system is constantly trying to identify and kill the virus, which can only infect new people if it escapes detection. While mutations occur randomly, ones that lead to a more transmissible variant or those that escape our immune system are preferentially selected and more likely to persist.

The mutations that characterise B.1.1.7, B.1.351 and P.1 have been shown to spread faster (especially B.1.1.7) and initial evidence points to a difference in the immune response (though not in B.1.1.7).

Another indication that immunity plays a big role is that the B.1.351 and P.1 variants came to prominence in areas with large first waves of COVID-19 where the population developed higher levels of immunity.

P.1 was identified in Brazil where up to 70 percent of the population were infected during the first wave. B.1.351 quickly became the dominant strain in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa which was similarly hard hit.

The new variants could infect a greater number of people than the original wild type of the virus, which might infect only people who had never been infected before.

This is one of the reasons why historically herd immunity for a new virus has not occurred through “natural disease progression” but only through vaccination.

The final part of the story is the fact that two of these variants (B.1.1.7 and P.1) differ by as many as 25 mutations from the closest known SARS-CoV-2 sequences. This is very unusual given that most viral sequences we see are within just a few mutations of others.

Such a rapid increase in diversity has been observed in chronic covid-19 infections in immunocompromised hosts. Most people are ill for a week or two, but a few have to fight the disease for months. During that time, the virus continues to evolve, sometimes very quickly as a weakened immune system presents all sorts of challenges to the virus but fails to kill it off.

This kind of infection presents a “training ground” for the virus, as it continually adapts.

Will we see more new variants?
As long as the virus is around, it will continue to mutate. With vaccine protection and natural immunity in a growing number of people, there is greater pressure on virus variants that evade our immune defences.

The rate of new mutations varies greatly between viruses. The overall mutation rate of SARS-CoV-2 is about half that of the influenza virus and much slower than HIV. But the overall mutation rate doesn’t tell us everything. What really matters is the rate of mutations that physically alter the virus.

There is some early evidence this rate is about the same in SARS-CoV-2 as in influenza viruses. One reason for this is that SARS-CoV-2 has only recently jumped to people and is not yet “optimised” to spread in humans.

Essentially the original virus was only a few mutations away from better fitness, and there may be further easy changes that could make it even better adapted to humans. Once the virus is through this initial adaptation phase, there will be fewer opportunities for easy, fitness-improving changes and new variants may appear less frequently.

The variants that have been characterised so far are likely only a small subset of those in circulation. It is no coincidence they are known from countries with comprehensive sequencing programmes (notably the UK).

But the new variants are not the main driver of transmission globally. Most of the world is still susceptible to any variant of SARS-CoV-2, including the original version. The protective measures we have used successfully in Aotearoa to control the virus continue to work for any variant.

The best way to protect against all current variants and to prevent the emergence of further variants is to drive down the number of cases through ongoing control measures and vaccination.

Dr David Welch, Senior Lecturer, University of Auckland; Dr Jemma Geoghegan, Senior Lecturer and Associate Scientist at ESR, University of Otago; Dr Joep de Ligt, Science Lead Genomics & Bioinformatics, ESR, and Dr Nigel French, Professor of Food Safety and Veterinary Public Health, Massey University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

Nervous Papatoetoe High School students were lining up today in big numbers to get tested, saying they want to do their bit to stop covid-19 getting into the New Zealand community.

A Year 9 student is among the three cases which have sparked a level 3 lockdown in Auckland, level 2 for the rest of the country.

Hundreds of students and their families were at a pop-up testing centre at the school today.

• READ MORE: Covid-19: Community test results so far encouraging but vigilance urged – Dr Ashley Bloomfield
• Follow RNZ’s live blog for the latest Covid-19 updates
• NZ’s covid-19 community cases

Head girl Rhonda Nguyen said she wanted to set an example for the other students.

“Especially since we found out this morning it’s the UK variant which is much more transmissible so we want to do our bit to keep everybody safe,” she said.

Another student, Armaan, said he had been feeling very anxious since finding out there was a case at the school, particularly because he sometimes studied in the same maths space as the positive student.

“I’d rather stay vigilant and take as many precautions to avoid giving it to my family,” he said.

‘No drama, it’s easy’
“I’ve been through one – no drama, it’s easy. They’re a bit worried that – ow, it’s going to get right in there – but I said ‘nah, you’ve just got to go through the drill’,” he said.

Renay was in line early with his daughter.

“I’m nervous that we’re in this position again – I never thought it would be so close to us but it’s just around and I think we still need to take care and be vigilant,” he said.

Some students had already been through the nearby Ōtara community testing yesterday.

Its operations manager Nonu Tuisamoa said they stayed open til 9.30pm last night, an hour and a half longer than scheduled, to get everyone through.

Today they had double the normal number of staff on, with cars lining up all morning.

“It’s super crazy, super crazy. After yesterday, the public and the community have come up in their droves and it’s strong,” he said.

The Ministry’s of Health’s list of places where the positive cases has visited was helping drive demand, he said.

“There’s a sense of anxiousness and wanting to make sure that everything is safe,” he said.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

The exact source of Auckland community cases of covid-19 in the latest New Zealand outbreak is the “big unknown” and there could be other cases, epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker says.

Auckland is on alert level 3 lockdown and the rest of the country on level 2 in response to the community cases announced yesterday afternoon.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed the community cases are the UK variant of the virus according to genomic sequencing. She said it was unlikely to have been a breach from managed isolation and quarantine facilities.

• READ MORE: Follow RNZ’s live blog for the latest covid-19 updates
• View updated locations of interest here
• What you need to know on the alert levels

The cases are a mother, father and daughter who live in the South Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe. Another household contact has tested negative. The mother works for laundry and catering company LSG Skychefs, which services planes at the airport.

“It’s very much a repeat of the Auckland August outbreak. Hopefully it will be much smaller and more contained,” Professor Baker told First Up.

“But it’s the same scenario where you have cases in the community, you don’t have a direct certain link to the borders.”

The concern is not knowing exactly where the outbreak came from, Professor Baker said.

‘Could be other cases’
“And that means there could be other cases in the community – there must be – who link this family to someone at the border.”

The best outcome would be if that was a small number of cases, and testing will work out if that is the case, he said.

“[The mother] is not a front line border worker. The big unknown is how she got infected, assuming she was the first case in that household, we can’t make any assumptions.

“There’s still no documented examples of people being infected through what we call fomites – that’s surfaces or objects.

“It’s still a fairly unlikely form of transmission.”

Professor Baker said new variants of covid-19, such as the UK strain, had the same mode of transmission, and it was the same method to stop the spread. “It’s just that we’ll have to work harder because it’s a more infectious variant,” he said.

Tighten borders, test workers daily – Wilson
Public health expert Professor Nick Wilson agreed the real concern was the lack of a clear link to the border and the possibility of other cases.

The most likely source was person to person, such as from an infected air crew member or transit passenger, or someone in an MIQ facility who has been somehow missed, he said.

Wilson said New Zealand should have moved from weekly testing long ago, and should be testing border staff daily.

“We really do need a much more vigorous system at the border, particularly now that we’ve got this technology for daily saliva tests.

“The data I’ve seen suggests it may be, just may be, as reliable [as PCR tests via nasal swab], but even if it is less reliable, because it’s done every day, it’s probably far superior to just weekly testing … and it’s much less onerous on staff.

“Other countries have been using this for months now. ”

He said the numbers coming in to New Zealand should be restricted to humanitarian cases until New Zealand gets levels of vaccination up in the community.

“I think that’s a reasonable argument now that we’ve had the experience of 11 border failures including the large Auckland August outbreak costing hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Professor Wilson said legal scholars have pointed out there are ways of delaying other New Zealand citizens’ return to the country in a “legally appropriate way”.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

New Zealand’s medicines regulator Medsafe has provisionally approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against covid-19, with certain conditions placed on the company.

In its assessment of the vaccine, the regulator met with the Medicine Assessment Advisory Committee (MAAC) for six hours yesterday to receive advice and recommendations.

In a statement, Medsafe said the MAAC supported the decision.

• READ MORE: Pfizer calls on governments to avoid export restrictions disrupting covid-19 vaccine supply

However, the provisions mean the company must meet 58 conditions that are placed on it.

“Of these, 52 relate to requiring additional manufacturing data from the company, for instance as it upscales its manufacturing,” Medsafe group manager Chris James said.

“Six of the conditions relate to additional clinical information such as regular updates from clinical trials, and ensuring we receive any information on safety concerns from around the world.”

Medsafe had given Pfizer timeframes to respond on the conditions, and was keeping an open dialogue with the company, he said.

Same vaccine batch as in Australia
New Zealand’s Pzifer vaccines are coming in by air and will be from same batch as Australia’s. A batch of 450,000 doses was expected by the end of March.

The vaccines will go into nine large freezers in Auckland and Christchurch when it arrives on shore, then it will be distributed around the country using cold-chain storage, which keeps it at -70C.

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said it would then go into short-term storage at between 2C to 8C, where it would remain usable for up to five days.

“So the co-ordination of getting appointments and making sure we’re using the vaccine and none is going to waste is a really big effort,” he said.

After the vaccine has been administered, people will need to wait 30 minutes to mitigate any potential side effects. People will receive two doses, three-to-four weeks apart.

Asked about the effectiveness of vaccines against new strains of covid-19, Dr Bloomfield was optimistic.

“So far, certainly with the strain first identified in the UK, the results are promising. It appears to be for the vaccines for the couple of vaccines that have looked at this – that the variant first found in South Africa does have a reduced effectiveness for the vaccines. But it’s still highly effective for the ones they’ve tested,” he said.

However, he warned the situation could become more complicated over time, as more strains emerge.

“When people are immunised against the existing strains, the virus will try to find a way to get around the vaccine,” he said.

PM outlines who will get vaccine first
Speaking at Waitangi, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the vaccine was expected to arrive in the first quarter of the year, but could not put a firm date on when.

Once here, it would be “ready for use, ready for rollout”, with hotel cleaners, security guards and border workers at the airport among those at the front of the queue.

“Those most at risk of getting Covid-19 will receive the vaccine first, with the broader community accessing the vaccine from the second half of the year,” Ardern said.

“Subject to expected delivery of the first batch of the vaccine, we will start vaccinating first our border workers and the people they live with. People such as cleaners, the nurses who undertake health checks in MIQ, security staff, customs and border officials, airline staff and hotel workers will be among the first to get the vaccine.”

It has been approved for people 16 years and older, with two doses 21 days apart.

Ardern encouraged all to get vaccinated and said people could have confidence in the vaccine and the process followed by Medsafe to approve it.

“I have said 2021 is the year of the vaccine. It’s a full-year programme we have only just begun. We’re not in a race to be first, but to ensure safe and timely access to vaccines for all New Zealanders,” she said.

‘Getting vaccinated will save lives’
“Getting vaccinated will save lives, and this is the next job of the team of five million.”

Minister in charge of the Covid-19 Response Chris Hipkins said: “Following Medsafe’s approval, Ministry of Health officials will give advice to the government this week about the ‘decision to use’ the vaccine. This will essentially set out who are most suited to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, such as age ranges.”

The first Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines were expected to arrive in New Zealand by the end of the first quarter, he said.

“Once vaccination of our border workers starts, we expect it to be completed within two to three weeks.”

At a media conference in the afternoon, it was announced a new government advisory group established to identify issues pertinent to vaccine administration was scheduled to meet tomorrow.

Meetings will be convened by Ministry of Health chief science adviser Ian Town. The scientists will keep ministers informed on the framework used to administer four different vaccines, including who should receive these and under what circumstances.

Provisional approval is ‘significant milestone’ – Bloomfield
Medsafe said it would continue to monitor use of the vaccine in the country including analysis of any potential side effects, which it said may include a sore arm or headaches as with other vaccines.

Medsafe group manager Chris James said a full assessment on the vaccine’s safety, effectiveness and quality – to guide the approval decision – started in November last year.

“The data was provided on a rolling basis, which streamlined the assessment process and enabled a timely approval without compromising the rigour of the review of the vaccine,” he said.

“All the data is considered and we then complete a benefit risk assessment, which allows us to balance the benefits of the vaccine against any known risks such as side effects. We have determined there may be some minor side effects such as a painful arm and headaches – these are not uncommon in other vaccines.

“We have also wanted to ensure the company can manufacture the vaccine to a high quality, and that all batches are consistent.”

Medsafe’s website includes more information on the vaccine, including the medicine data sheet and full list of ingredients. Other details specifically tailored for consumers will also be published.

New chapter in NZ response
In the statement, Dr Bloomfield said the decision brought about a new chapter in New Zealand’s response to the pandemic.

“I want to reassure New Zealanders we will also be applying the same rigour to all subsequent vaccine applications.”

In a conference in the afternoon, James said despite the data process being streamlined, it had in no way compromised assessment standards.

“We have not cut any corners in assessment,” he said.

The same process would be used with the other three vaccines.

The Oxford-AstraVeneca vaccine data had been rolling in and an application for approval had been received by Medsafe this week, James said.

The Janssen vaccine was also progressing well, with data being submitted and an application for approval expected during the second-quarter of the year, he said.

No Novavax application
No application had been received for the Novavax vaccine.

Four separate teams of assessors had been allocated to look at the vaccines.

James admitted that data received from clinical trials and reports from overseas regulatory partners didn’t confirm that any of the vaccines reduced transmission. Manufacture of the vaccines is primarily used in Belgium, Germany and the US.

While Dr Bloomfield highlighted the decision as a “significant milestone”, he warned: “There is more work to do, we are not out of the woods yet.”

“Vaccination is a key next step in our ongoing response to this virus. It’s also a good point to recognise the incredible amount of work New Zealanders have put in to support our successful response to date.”

Dr Bloomfield said as soon as authorities were confident about the vaccine’s arrival date, it would be made public.

Previously, he said he was confident that New Zealand would receive a Covid-19 vaccine by the end of March.

‘Ready to start’
“We will be ready to start vaccinating people as soon as a vaccine arrives, and at this time the first vaccine we’re expecting is Pfizer in this quarter,” he said.

Last week, Pfizer said in a statement it was on track to deliver the first doses to New Zealand in February, and committed to its agreement to supply 1.5m doses during 2021.

If delays with Pfizer’s vaccine were to occur, New Zealand had other vaccines to fall back on, Bloomfield said. New Zealand has agreements with AstraZeneca, Novavax and Janssen as well for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Australia approved the Pfizer product last week. BioNTech and Pfizer this month raised their supply goal for this year to 2 billion doses, up from a previous aim of 1.3 billion.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Jakarta Indonesian Doctor’s Association (IDI) chairperson Slamet Budiarto has challenged a statement by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo who has claimed that the Indonesian government has succeeded in bringing the coronavirus pandemic under control.

Budiarto said he was confused about what parameters Widodo was using in making such a statement.

“I don’t understand why Pak [Mr] Jokowi made such a statement. Perhaps in terms of the economy, I don’t know what the economy is like. What I do know is in terms of health,” Budiarto told Kompas.com.

• READ MORE: Indonesia condemns ‘vaccine nationalism’

Budiarto asserted that in terms of health, the pandemic was clearly “out of control”. This could be seen from the first parameter – the high death rate.

According to the Johns Hopkins University world covid-19 map, Indonesia’s total number of deaths today is 30,277.

“Our death rate is the highest – number 1 among Asean countries – both in terms of percentage and number. I expect that by the end of the year there will be 100,000 deaths, by December 2021,” said Budiarto.

The second parameter used by the IDI, meanwhile, is the rate of new daily infections. On the day of the interview, there were an additional 13,094 new cases.

More than 1 million cases
Today the accumulative number of covid-19 cases in Indonesia is 1,089,308.

The deputy chairperson of the IDI confessed that he did not understand the parameters being used by Jokowi when he said the pandemic was under control.

“Yes, well perhaps the President has another parameter. For us at the IDI the parameters are the death and infection rate,” said Budiarto.

Regardless of the parameters being used, Budiarto is asking the government to focus on dealing with the pandemic in terms of health so the death rate can be brought down.

He said he had already proposed to Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin that covid-19 patients with minor symptoms be treated at home under the care of general practitioners.

“One doctor can monitor 10 people. Later they could be given incentives,” said Budiarto.

In this way, hospitals will not be full and treatment rooms in hospitals can be used to focus on patients with medium and serious symptoms.

‘Death rate rising’
“Right now the death rate is rising because hospitals are overloaded”, he said.

President Widodo said recently that in 2020 and entering 2021 Indonesia had faced a number of difficult challenges. One of these was the covid-19 pandemic which had resulted in a health and economic crisis.

Widodo, however, also claimed that Indonesia has been able to control both crises well.

“We are grateful. Indonesia is among the countries that is controlling these two [health and economic] crises well,” said Widodo during a full working assembly session of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) through the PGI Yakoma YouTube channel last week.

Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Jokowi Klaim Pandemi Terkendali, IDI Bingung Apa Indikatornya”.

Tourism is set to suffer a sharp decline in French Polynesia as the territory is about to close the border on Wednesday in response to the latest French government decision aimed at slowing the covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

At the weekend, France suspended all travel from and to non-European Union destinations except in urgent cases, with the ban being extended to Tahiti on February 3.

The French High Commission in Pape’ete said in contrast to earlier French lockdowns, this time French Polynesia’s tourism sector would no longer be granted an exemption.

• READ MORE: Tourism suspended until further notice
• Sébastien Lecornu: ‘The threat is great for French Polynesia’

It also said tourists still in Tahiti were allowed to leave as their travel home was being considered as a reason for an exemption.

Tahiti-Infos reports that the territory authorities have announced that they would take “emergency” measures over jobs and businesses.

Tourism and air transport professionals say they are devastated.

‘Great threat’ for Polynesians
Overseas Territories Minister Sébastien Lecornu said in a TNTV television broadcast from Paris that Polynesians faced a “great threat” from three variants of covid-19 with an “intense and rapid spread”.

Last July, French Polynesia re-opened its borders and abolished mandatory quarantine requirements to boost tourism.

As the only accessible international tourist destination in the South Pacific, it attracted visitors from mainly France and the United States.

Since the reopening in July, it has registered 18,000 Covid-19 cases, including 132 deaths.

During the preceding lockdown, French Polynesia recorded 62 infections and eliminated the virus.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

WorkSafe took enforcement action against four New Zealand managed isolation facilities last year after reviewing their health and safety measures, it has been revealed.

The agency said the assessments focused on the effectiveness of risk management and controls, the use of protective equipment, worker engagement, participation and representation.

Letters were issued to the four hotels in relation to the breaches.

• READ MORE: Covid-19 update: No community cases in NZ for fourth day in row
• Australia-NZ travel bubble reopens

WorkSafe said it was satisfied the matters were attended to promptly and remedied by the hotel management.

In last year’s nationwide lockdown, WorkSafe said its staff carried out close to 2500 on site assessments related to covid-19.

Minister for Covid-19 Response Chris Hipkins last week denied standards were slipping at the facilities after a managed isolation staffer lost their job due to an illicit rendezvous.

Hipkins described the incident at the Grand Millennium in central Auckland as a “one-off” event and said the staffer had been sanctioned.

However, at the same briefing Hipkins admitted that there was “something going on at the Pullman”.

There have been three covid-19 cases where guests caught the virus while staying at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland.

No community cases for fourth day
There have been no new community cases of covid-19 reported in New Zealand today, with just one case in managed isolation.

In a statement, the Health Ministry said the number of active cases remains at 71, with one previously reported case now recovered. The total number of confirmed cases is 1948.

Today’s new case arrived in New Zealand on January 26 from the United Kingdom via Qatar.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

A wine delivery, a note penned on the back of a facemask and a 20-minute bedroom “encounter” have spelled the end of a managed isolation staffer’s job in New Zealand.

However, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins refutes there are slipping standards at the border facilities, where authorities are also investigating the transmission of the coronavirus between Pullman Hotel guests.

The illicit rendezvous with a returnee happened at the Grand Millennium in central Auckland on January 7, and came to light at today’s covid-19 briefing.

• READ MORE: ‘Impose stricter quarantine measures’, epidemiologist tells NZ

Hipkins said the MIQ worker entered a guest’s room to deliver a bottle of wine after exchanging notes, and stayed for 20 minutes.

“I didn’t enquire into specifically, the nature of the encounter, but there was a 20 minute encounter. That was enough for me to know it was unacceptable,” he said.

While the encounter isn’t thought to have put others at risk, it’s been chided as “irresponsible” and “incredibly disappointing” by the head of managed isolation and quarantine Brigadier Jim Bliss, who said the security measures at the hotel meant the incident was detected quickly.

A hotel manager realised the worker had not returned, and a hotel security manager located them in the room.

Formal police warning
Brigadier Bliss said they were immediately sent home and instructed to self-isolate and be tested, before being given a formal written warning by police.

Both the worker and the returnee had returned negative test results both before and after the incident.

“We’re not aware of any other reports of situations like this between staff and returnees,” Brigadier Bliss said.

“There is absolutely no room for complacency for those inside our managed isolation and quarantine facilities.”

Hipkins said the staffer had been sanctioned, and he also reassured it was a “one-off”.

“We’re dealing with human beings. We ask everybody to the standards that we put in place. I cannot control the actions of that individual but we absolutely make clear what the rules are and when people breach the rules there are consequences,” he said.

“Obviously I asked for that to be fully investigated and for appropriate action to be taken. I understand that appropriate action has been taken and that person is no longer working for managed isolation.”

No new community cases
There were no new community cases of covid-19 today, however, authorities have revealed there are two other people who they believe caught the virus in the Pullman Hotel – rather than overseas.

They were staying on the same floor and have the South African variant strain of the virus.

Hipkins admitted there was “something going on at the Pullman”.

Director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield said stricter measures were in place until more was known.

“No new arrivals are going in… a significant restriction on movement outside of rooms for everybody, and no movement outside of rooms once people have had that final test at day 12,” he said.

In other new rules, those leaving the Pullman Hotel must isolate at home and have a follow up test five days later, while testing of staff is being ramped up and the ventilation systems are being upgraded.

Pullman guests will only be able to exercise in limited numbers, with people who were on their flight.

Curbs have also been put on smoking sessions – which are now capped at 10 minutes and a maximum of two people at a time, who are from the same flight.

No wider restrictions
Outside isolation, with no new community cases, today’s 1pm briefing granted the green light to thousands of holidaymakers, and concert-goers with Auckland anniversary weekend plans.

After a frazzling week for organisers, Auckland International Buskers Festival, Chinese New Year Festival and Auckland Folk Festival will continue in the freedom of Alert Level 1.

Next week, the first of more than 200 Auckland Pride events will kick off across the city.

The recent cases of covid-19 in Auckland and Northland have been linked to Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ). There is no evidence so far that suggests community transmission, the Ministry of Health said.

• Call Healthline 0800 358 5453 for advice on when and where to get tested, and remain isolated until you have a negative test result.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

The two new cases of covid-19 confirmed yesterday in New Zealand are the South African variant and initial results show they are connected to the Northland case at the Pullman Hotel.

This morning the Director-General of Health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, confirmed to Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins that preliminary genomic sequencing results showed a link.

The pair completed their managed isolation in the same facility and at the same time as the Northland community case.

• READ MORE: Two more people linked with Pullman Hotel treated as confirmed cases
• Two new NZ cases test positive for covid-19 South African variant
• NZ’s first community covid case since November

They left quarantine at the Pullman Hotel on January 15 and have been living in North Auckland. They will now isolate in the Jet Park quarantine facility.

Hipkins said it was not an exact match but what they call “in the same tree”, so it is highly likely they are connected.

He says someone with the virus was picked up from the Pullman and taken to the Jet Park Hotel which appears to be the source.

Cause of the spread
Hipkins says something happened at the Pullman to cause the spread and they are now trying to work out whether it was something like an interaction in the lift or exercise area.

People who visited locations of interest in Auckland or anyone with symptoms, are asked to isolate and call Healthline 0800 611 116 to arrange a test and remain isolated until they receive their result.

The list of locations is here.

RNZ’s Live Blog with updates on the covid outbreak is here.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

New Zealand’s Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has revealed that 14 close contacts of the Northland community case have returned negative test results.

Hipkins said in a tweet today three more test results were pending.

Yesterday he announced two close contacts – her husband and hair dresser – were negative.

• READ MORE: UN labour arm ILO warns of ‘lost lockdown generation’
• What we know about the South African variant

In his tweet, Hipkins described the news as “encouraging”.

The latest community coronavirus case in New Zealand travelled across Northland before her positive test result, but was scrupulous about using the government’s Covid Tracer app, health authorities have revealed.

The latest probable case is a 56-year-old woman who was released from isolation at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland after testing negative twice during her stay.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield held a media conference about the probable community case this afternoon.

• READ MORE: Latest probable NZ community covid case visited 30 locations
• The list of covid case visit locations
• Large queues at covid testing stations
• Covid community case: Infection at MIQ facility ‘most likely secenario’

The woman travelled around Northland after leaving isolation, including Helensville, Mangawhai and Dargaville. Dr Bloomfield said she “almost definitely” visited Whangārei.

Today’s NZ covid-19 media conference. Video: RNZ News

Dr Bloomfield said health authorities were investigating the positive test result. She had travelled in Spain and the Netherlands for about four months late last year with family members, some of whom later tested positive for covid-19.

She travelled to New Zealand from London, arriving in Auckland on December 30.

She returned two negative tests while in isolation, and had no symptoms while in isolation.

Returned home in Northland
After leaving isolation on January 13 she returned to her home in Northland, where she lives with her husband. He has reported no symptoms.

Dr Bloomfield said she felt very mild symptoms on January 15, but did not associate them with covid. As her symptoms worsened, she got tested at a community testing facility.

The woman is well enough to be at home and has not needed hospital care.

A thorough interview has suggested she has four close contacts. They are isolated and are talking to health officials and have been tested.

Dr Bloomfield said the four close contacts include her household contact and others who she had a close encounter within a retail setting. She visited restaurants, cafes and retail outlets during her travels.

The woman did not attend large events or mass gatherings, DrBloomfield said.

Own vehicle for travel
It is understood the couple travelled in their own vehicle around Northland and did not use public transport.

The Ministry of Health is wanting higher rates of testing in Northland, and this evening set up testing until 8pm at Winger Crescent in Kamo.

Bloomfield said the result indicated it was a new case, but further tests were looking at whether it could be historical, and if it was a variant.

“We are working on the assumption this is a positive case and that it is a more transmissible variant.”

Dr Bloomfield said it was possible – but unlikely – to be a very long incubation period. He said investigations were underway to determine if she possibly contracted the virus while at the managed-isolation facility.

‘We are casting the net wide’
Hipkins said the origin of the infection was not yet known. Further tests had been carried out, but the results are not out yet.

More than 600 people who stayed in managed isolation at the Pullman Hotel this month have been asked to stay at home and get tested for covid-19.

All staff working at the Pullman Hotel will also be re-tested.

Hipkins said the woman had been tracing her movements and scanning the QR code wherever she went. Dr Bloomfield said this allowed authorities to rapidly identify what places she had been to.

“In this case we are also casting the net wide to ensure we contain any potential community transmission. This is precautionary but vital as part of our response.”

He said she visited several locations and the Ministry of Health will release details of these on its website as soon as it has all the details.

It is asking people who have been at those locations to stay at home and call Healthline about the right time to get a test.

‘A tricky virus’
Dr Bloomfield said anyone who was symptomatic, either in Northland or around the country, should get a test.

“This is a reminder to all of us that the pandemic continues, this is a tricky virus and it behoves all of us to get with the programme and do the things we all know need to be done to keep New Zealanders safe – wash your hands, scan in religiously and stay home if you’re unwell and get a test and isolate until you receive a negative result.”

Dr Bloomfield said more PPE and lab supplies had been sent to Northland and told district health boards to expect increased testing. Public health units across the country are on stand-by to support Northland.

An increasing proportion of positive tests in isolation were historical infections, Dr Bloomfield said.

If confirmed, it will be the first community case since November.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

In spite of Papua New Guinea’s mandatory mask-wearing requirement under the National Pandemic Act 2020, many public servants attending a dedication service in Port Moresby have failed to wear one.

They were issued masks before entering the Sir John Guise Indoor Complex but took them off once inside.

• READ MORE: Another covid death in French Polynesia, another case in PNG
• PNG reports eight new covid cases taking total to 843

Pandemic Controller David Manning has again emphasised that the mandatory wearing of masks is one of the 11 measures to stop the spread of the covid-19 which some people were openly defying.

The national covid-19 total is 843.

The rules are:

• NO person shall be permitted entry to, or otherwise remain within any enclosed space within an establishment, unless the person is wearing a mask or face covering, in a manner which covers their mouth, nose and chin;
• NO person shall be permitted entry into or otherwise remain on public transport unless the person is wearing a mask or face covering in a manner which covers their mouth, nose and chin;
• NO person shall be permitted entry into an aircraft anywhere in PNG unless the person is wearing a mask or face covering;
• NO person shall remove their mask or face covering while on an aircraft in PNG; and,
• ALL persons working in a designated market, establishment or on a public transport in which they interact in person with customers, clients or work in an enclosed space with other colleagues must wear masks at all times.

Face masks ‘a must’
Manning stressed that business and government departments and agencies must ensure that all employees must wear mask or face coverings.

But at the public service dedication service on Monday, the majority of the people who sat side by side were not wearing masks.

An officer from the Department of Community Development was seen handing out masks to public servants entering the Sir John Guise Stadium.

But once inside, some removed their masks.

Those exempted from the measures include:

• CHILDREN under 12;
• PERSONS with underlying medical conditions which inhibit their ability to wear a mask, including persons with physical or mental illness or impairment or disability;
• PERSONS who are unable to place or remove a facemask or face covering without assistance;
• PERSONS undergoing dental treatment or medical care to the extent that the procedure requires that no face covering may be worn; and
• PERSONS participating in sporting activities.

Manning said penalties would be imposed on those who failed to wear masks.

Asia Pacific Report republishes The National articles with permission.

An independent panel says Chinese officials could have applied public health measures more forcefully in January to curb the initial covid-19 outbreak, and criticised the World Health Organisation (WHO) for not declaring an international emergency until 30 January.

The experts reviewing the global handling of the pandemic, led by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, called for reforms to the Geneva-based United Nations agency.

Their interim report was published hours after the WHO’s top emergency expert, Dr Mike Ryan, said global deaths from covid-19 were expected to top 100,000 per week “very soon”.

• READ MORE: ‘Catastrophic moral failure’: WHO warns over vaccine distribution
• Other covid-19 pandemic reports

“What is clear to the Panel is that public health measures could have been applied more forcefully by local and national health authorities in China in January,” the report said, referring to the initial outbreak of the new disease in the central city of Wuhan, in Hubei province.

As evidence emerged of human-to-human transmission, “in far too many countries, this signal was ignored”, it added.

Specifically, it questioned why the WHO’s Emergency Committee did not meet until the third week of January and did not declare an international emergency until its second meeting on 30 January.

“Although the term pandemic is neither used nor defined in the International Health Regulations (2005), its use does serve to focus attention on the gravity of a health event. It was not until 11 March that WHO used the term,” the report said.

‘Not fit for purpose’
“The global pandemic alert system is not fit for purpose”, it said. “The World Health Organisation has been underpowered to do the job.”

Under President Donald Trump, the United States has accused the WHO of being “China-centric”, which the agency denies.

European countries led by France and Germany have pushed for addressing the WHO’s shortcomings on funding, governance and legal powers.

The panel called for a “global reset” and said that it would make recommendations in a final report to health ministers from the 194 member states of WHO in May.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticised the Indonesian government of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo for its weak health response to covid-19 which has brought Indonesia to its knees since March 2020, reports CNN Indonesia.

The assessment is based on Indonesia’s poor rates of testing and tracing and minimal transparency. Furthermore, the government was both slow and incompetent in dealing with the covid-19 pandemic.

In its annual World Report 2021 the human rights organisation highlighted that under President Widodo’s leadership the government had instead focused on regulations related to labour which harmed the rights of workers and damaged the environment.

• READ MORE: Other West Papua reports

Yet the epidemic itself has killed at least 17,000 Indonesians and resulted in around 2.6 million people losing their jobs.

“The response of President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo’s government to the covid-19 pandemic was weak, with low testing and tracing rates, and little transparency,” the report said.

“The impact of the virus has been devastating, killing at least 17,000 people, and leading to the loss of 2.6 million jobs.”

HRW Asia director Brad Adams said that the Widodo government never made dealing with the pandemic its top priority and focusing instead on passing laws that harmed workers and the environment.

Pandemic not top priority
“The Jokowi government never seemed to make the pandemic its top priority, focusing instead on passing a business-friendly law that harm workers and the environment”, said Adams as quoted from the HRW website by CNN Indonesia.

According to Adams, which creating jobs and planning economic recovery are important goals especially in a pandemic, “but they should not come at the expense of fighting the virus or protecting the hard-fought rights of workers”.

Adams said that the HRW also highlighted violations of the rights of women, religious minorities and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups.

There were many cases of Muslim groups who threatened religious minority groups found in Indonesia but the government’s response this kind of intimidation was still very minimal.

Adams said that according to HRW’s records, Indonesian police arrested at least 38 people for blasphemy across 16 provinces in 2020.

The Supreme Court also rejected a petition to revoke the joint ministerial decree on houses of worship, which has been used to close down hundreds of churches since 2006.

“Jokowi came to office promising progressive reforms, but in 2020 he seemed to give up any remaining intentions he had to protect rights and the most vulnerable,” Adams said.

Limited access to Papuan provinces
Indonesia, according to the HRW report, has also continued to limit access for international rights monitors and journalists to visit Papua and West Papua provinces, which have long been affected by unrest and rights violations.

“It’s not too late for him to take bold steps to prioritise public health, reinstate labor and environmental protections, and protect free expression. His last years in office will define his legacy”, concluded Adams.

Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “HRW: Respons Jokowi Lemah terhadap Penanganan Pandemi Corona”.

• The HRW World Report 2021 chapter on Indonesia.

An expatriate who tested positive for the covid-19 coronavirus last week has been admitted to a private hospital in the Papua New Guinea capital of Port Moresby, an official has confirmed.

Pacific International Hospital (PIH) chief executive officer Colonel Sandeep Shaligram told
The National the case had been immediately reported to the Covid-19 National Control Centre (NCC) when the man tested positive.

He said it was the only confirmed as a covid-19 case when tested at the hospital last week.

• READ MORE: Covid cases in CNMI go to 129 as vaccinations roll out
• French Polynesia covid outbreak slows
• New covid cases in PNG take total to 833

Colonel Shaligram said the hospital had reported the case to the NCC when the man was tested positive and admitted.

He also confirmed that another patient admitted was medically evacuated overseas but said the illness was not related to the Covid-19.

Shaligram said the only other case that had tested positive at the hospital was from  samples received from East New Britain last week which was also reported to the NCC.

“As soon as a test is returned positive, we report it to the NCC and they do the contact tracing,” he said.

Male expatriate aged about 50
According to sources, the patient currently admitted is a male expatriate aged around 50 who is feeling better and wanting to be medically evacuated overseas.

A woman who took the man to the hospital had tested negative.

The case of the Port Moresby man currently admitted at PIH was, however, not included in the NCC update circulated to the media last week.

It is not known what steps had been taken by the NCC to conduct contact tracing.

The only two cases in Port Moresby reported by the centre were of a 47-year-old woman and an 89-year-old man.

Attempts by The National to get comments from the Health Department and the Deputy National Pandemic Response Controller were not successful.

National cases total now 834
The national total for covid-19 cases stands at 834 as of last Thursday.

It included a 48-year-old male mining contractor at Ok Tedi Mine who was tested positive on his return to work in North Fly.

He was not showing any symptoms of the covid-19 at the time of testing but swab samples returned positive.

According to the NCC, 19 cases of covid-19 were reported last week from around the country.

Asia Pacific Report republishes The National articles with permission.

Passengers from the Cook Islands will resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from next week, the two governments have confirmed.

NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown have announced the change, which will start from January 21.

“Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ covid-free status, and the implementation of strict health and border protocols, we are now in the position to resume quarantine-free travel for passengers from the Cook Islands into New Zealand,” Ardern said.

• READ MORE: Cook Islands extends wage subsidy as it holds out for travel bubble

But Ardern said the new arrangements did not apply to New Zealanders wishing to travel to the Cook Islands.

“We said we would take a phased approach to resuming two-way travel and will do so only once all safety protocols can be met,” Ardern said.

Brown said the new arrangements would allow specialist workers and contractors and the judiciary to come to Rarotonga for short terms without the need for two-week quarantine on return.

“There has been a desperate need to clear one year’s worth of court cases due to the inability to conduct trials and hearings before a judge. Private companies have been ham-strung by the inability to bring in specialists for major projects and infrastructure work.”

Brown said he welcomed the support of the New Zealand government to institute the travel corridor.

“This announcement demonstrates the confidence New Zealand has in us, and we will not take that for granted.”

To be eligible to enter the country, people in the Cook Islands must meet some conditions, including not having been overseas outside of the Cook Islands or New Zealand in the past 14 days and not having had contact with a confirmed covid-19 case within the past 14 days.

They will also need to wear a face covering at the airport where they arrived in New Zealand.

Public health officials will be undertaking random temperature checks of passengers on all flights arriving from the Cook Islands into New Zealand.

Cook Islands flights to NZ on sale
Air New Zealand said flights from the Cook Islands to New Zealand are now on sale.

It will operate two flights per week, departing Rarotonga on Wednesdays and Saturdays using the airline’s A320 fleet.

Air NZ chief executive officer Greg Foran said the travel bubble was “fantastic news”.

“We know many Cook Islanders will be eager to connect with friends and family in New Zealand, and we look forward to seeing what a two-way quarantine-free travel arrangement will look like.”

“We’ve been working closely with both governments, relevant agencies and airports on what is required to keep our customers and staff safe once travel opens up.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

New Zealand faces an increased risk of community transmission from the UK strain of covid-19 that is now arriving in the country, says epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker.

There were 31 new imported cases of covid-19 reported today, with the Health Ministry also revealing that 19 people have tested positive for the more infectious UK variant of the virus at the New Zealand border in the past four weeks.

The variant is considerably more transmissible than previous strains but not necessarily any more dangerous for those infected.

• READ MORE: 31 new NZ covid-19 imported cases in past three days
• Pacific update: Covid-19 cases in CNMI rise to 125

First detected in November, the variant has driven a spike in cases in the UK and has now spread across the globe.

The Ministry of Health said today most the 19 cases seen in New Zealand’s managed isolation facilities had come into the country from the UK via the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar or Singapore.

“Infection prevention control protocols are in place for all staff and we can assure the public that there is no increased risk to the community.”

But Dr Baker said there clearly was a risk.

Variant ‘more infectious’
“As soon as you have a variant that’s more infectious it means those with it are more likely to infect people on the flight to New Zealand, more likely to infect other people in managed isolation and the staff that work there.

“If the variant gets into the community, it’s more likely to cause an outbreak and it will be harder to control.”

Dr Baker said the ministry was right that the same strict protocols were being followed at the border, but from a risk assessment point of view the risk has been turned up.

“Pre-flight testing will obviously reduce the amount of positive cases at the border – some countries have banned arrivals from the UK altogether but that’s taking it too far.

“We still need to allow New Zealanders the right to come home, but we do need to put in more effort to reduce the number of infected people getting on flights.”

People should stay home for the week before their flight and be extra cautious when they travel to the airport, he said.

Next focus for defence
“We have a booking system so we know who is coming back to New Zealand as most have arranged their plans months in advance.

“We should be contacting them and giving them advice on what they should and shouldn’t be doing,” Dr Baker said.

He said people often used their time before a flight catching up with friends and family to say goodbye which increased the risk of getting covid-19.

“There’s a vital opportunity in the week before a flight to reduce the chance of getting the virus so that could be the next focus for New Zealand’s defence against it.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

The new covid-19 variant found in the UK is set to become more prevalent across the world due to its more transmissible nature, a New Zealand epidemiologist says.

Six cases of the recently identified UK variant have been found in New Zealand’s managed isolation facilities over the past three days.

Professor Michael Baker said the new strain was always going to make its way to New Zealand.

• READ MORE: Six cases of UK covid variant arrive in NZ

“It was inevitable – because once it becomes a dominant strain, like it has in the UK, people coming here will obviously bring it with them,” he said.

“This new variant will become dominant all over the world over the next couple of weeks and months because it’s more infectious.”

He said if there was community transmission with the new strain in New Zealand it would be harder to control.

“We’ve seen figures that it is up to 50 to 70 percent more infectious. That means a higher reproduction number which means it would be harder to contain an outbreak if one occurs

“We really want to avoid going into a lockdown but that could easily happen if an outbreak happens with the new variant.”

Pre-departure test move ‘inevitable’
Yesterday, the government announced that from January 15 people arriving from America and the United Kingdom will need to show they have tested negative less than 72 hours before departing.

But many travellers were already taking pre-flight coronavirus tests as a requirement for some transit countries, Professor Baker said.

The only main route from the UK to New Zealand which does not require a pre-departure test currently is through Doha.

New Zealanders in the UK are not allowed to transit through Japan, China or Hong Kong, and currently need a negative test before transiting through Singapore.

Professor Baker said the new requirement was an inevitable shift in policy.

“Almost all airline routes into New Zealand require testing before you travel through them so I’m not sure if this new requirement will change much for people trying to travel here,” Professor Baker said.

Constant review needed
“We have several hundred people travelling here each day and lots are coming from countries where the pandemic is out of control and it might get more intense over the next couple of weeks.”

He said it made sense for the government to constantly review standards at the border.

“Hopefully the pre-departure test will encourage people to take more precautions before they get on the flight – that would mean basically limiting your social contacts wearing mask and having a period of home quarantine at home before you get on the plane to New Zealand,” he said.

“Every time an infected person gets on a plane they can infect others on the flight staff at MIQ facilities, and we have had border failures and they are driven by the number of infected people arriving here, so the more we can turn down that tap the better for NZ.”

However, testing did not always pick up people in the early stages of infection so positive cases could still arrive at the border, he said.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

• If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs) or call your GP – don’t show up at a medical centre

The notion that the covid-19 pandemic was “the great equalizer’ should be dead and buried by now. If anything, the lethal disease is another terrible reminder of the deep divisions and inequalities in our societies.

That said, the treatment of the disease should not be a repeat of the same shameful scenario.

For an entire year, wealthy celebrities and government officials have been reminding us that “we are in this together”, that “we are on the same boat”, with the likes of US singer, Madonna, speaking from her mansion while submerged in a “milky bath sprinkled with rose petals,” telling us that the pandemic has proved to be the “great equalizer”.

• READ MORE: Covid-19 vaccine roll out starts in parts of the Pacific

“Like I used to say at the end of ‘Human Nature’ every night, we are all in the same boat,” she said. “And if the ship goes down, we’re all going down together,” CNN reported at the time.

Such statements, like that of Madonna, and Ellen DeGeneres as well, have generated much media attention not just because they are both famous people with a massive social media following but also because of the obvious hypocrisy in their empty rhetoric.

In truth, however, they were only repeating the standard procedure followed by governments, celebrities and wealthy “influencers” worldwide.

But are we, really, “all in this together”? With unemployment rates skyrocketing across the globe, hundreds of millions scraping by to feed their children, multitudes of nameless and hapless families chugging along without access to proper healthcare, subsisting on hope and a prayer so that they may survive the scourges of poverty – let alone the pandemic – one cannot, with a clear conscience, make such outrageous claims.

Not only are we not “on the same boat” but, certainly, we have never been. According to World Bank data, nearly half of the world lives on less than US$5.5 a day. This dismal statistic is part of a remarkable trajectory of inequality that has afflicted humanity for a long time.

The plight of many of the world’s poor is compounded in the case of war refugees, the double victims of state terrorism and violence and the unwillingness of those with the resources to step forward and pay back some of their largely undeserved wealth.

The boat metaphor is particularly interesting in the case of refugees; millions of them have desperately tried to escape the infernos of war and poverty in rickety boats and dinghies, hoping to get across from their stricken regions to safer places.

Sadly familiar sight
This sight has sadly grown familiar in recent years not only throughout the Mediterranean Sea but also in other bodies of water around the world, especially in Burma, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have tried to escape their ongoing genocide. Thousands of them have drowned in the Bay of Bengal.

The covid-19 pandemic has accentuated and, in fact, accelerated the sharp inequalities that exist in every society individually, and the world at large. According to a June 2020 study conducted in the United States by the Brookings Institute, the number of deaths as a result of the disease reflects a clear racial logic.

Many indicators included in the study leave no doubt that racism is a central factor in the life cycle of covid.

For example, among those aged between 45 and 54 years, “Black and Hispanic/Latino death rates are at least six times higher than for whites”. Although whites make up 62 percent of the US population of that specific age group, only 22 percent of the total deaths were white.

Black and Latino communities were the most devastated.

According to this and other studies, the main assumption behind the discrepancy of infection and death rates resulting from covid among various racial groups in the US is poverty which is, itself, an expression of racial inequality. The poor have no, or limited, access to proper healthcare. For the rich, this factor is of little relevance.

Moreover, poor communities tend to work in low-paying jobs in the service sector, where social distancing is nearly impossible. With little government support to help them survive the lockdowns, they do everything within their power to provide for their children, only to be infected by the virus or, worse, die.

Iniquity expected to continue
This iniquity is expected to continue even in the way that the vaccines are made available. While several Western nations have either launched or scheduled their vaccination campaigns, the poorest nations on earth are expected to wait for a long time before life-saving vaccines are made available.

In 67 poor or developing countries located mostly in Africa and the Southern hemisphere, only one out of ten individuals will likely receive the vaccine by the end of 2020, the Fortune Magazine website reported.

The disturbing report cited a study conducted by a humanitarian and rights coalition, the People’s Vaccine Alliance (PVA), which includes Oxfam and Amnesty International.

If there is such a thing as a strategy at this point, it is the deplorable “hoarding” of the vaccine by rich nations.

Dr Mohga Kamal-Yanni of the PVA put this realisation into perspective when she said that “rich countries have enough doses to vaccinate everyone nearly three times over, while poor countries don’t even have enough to reach health workers and people at risk”.

So much for the numerous conferences touting the need for a “global response” to the disease.

But it does not have to be this way.

While it is likely that class, race and gender inequalities will continue to ravage human societies after the pandemic, as they did before, it is also possible for governments to use this collective tragedy as an opportunity to bridge the inequality gap, even if just a little, as a starting point to imagine a more equitable future for all of us.

Poor, dark-skinned people should not be made to die when their lives can be saved by a simple vaccine, which is available in abundance.

Dr Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of five books. His latest is “These Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons” (Clarity Press, Atlanta). Dr Baroud is a non-resident senior research fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), Istanbul Zaim University (IZU). This article is republished with permission. His website is www.ramzybaroud.net

Covid-19 vaccinations begin in the Northern Mariana Islands this weekend, but it is not yet clear when other Pacific countries will have access to a vaccine.

The Northern Marianas, which is a US territory, was expecting 5,000 doses of the The Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to arrive during the week, and vaccinations to start today, RNZ Pacific correspondent Mark Rabago said.

The vaccine had already been approved in the USA and UK. It must be stored at around -70C, and transported in special boxes, packed in dry ice.

• LISTEN TO RNZ: Pacific vaccine roll-out

Once delivered, it can be kept for up to five days in a fridge.

“A couple of weeks ago our government purchased and received 10 ultra cold freezers. The freezers we ordered came from South Korea, and we have two sent to Tinian and Rota and the rest will be used in Saipan,” Rabago said.

The country had already been sent a “mock package” of the vaccine as a trail, from the US federal government, to test the systems they had in place to transport and store it, which went well, he said.

“There is a first-priority group that will receive the vaccine first and they are the healthcare workers, first responders, high-risk patients and seniors.

Congressman and Northern Mariana Islander Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, had volunteered to be injected in public, and the governor Ralph Deleon Guerrero Torres also said he and his family were available to be vaccinated to demonstrate confidence in the vaccine, if they were asked to.

NZ offers vaccines to six Pacific countries
New Zealand now has agreements in place to secure enough vaccines to vaccinate everyone in the country, as well as everyone in Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Niue, and the Cook Islands, if the governments of those countries accept the offer.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the announcement this week, saying that if the vaccines are proven to be safe and effective, then the government’s first priority will be to vaccinate border workers, essential staff and their household contacts.

The arrangements are for 750,000 courses of vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech, 5m from Janssen, 3.8m from AstraZeneca and 5.36m from Novava.

And Minister for Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta said $75 million of development assistance had been set aside to support global access to the vaccines, and roll-out.

That included a $10m donation to the COVAX programme aiming to provide vaccinations to countries that might otherwise struggle to afford it.

COVAX is co-led by the World Health Organisation and Gavi, and alliance of governments, drug companies, charities and aid organisations. It aims to deliver two billion vaccine doses by the end of next year, which could be provided to 20 percent of the most vulnerable people in 91 countries.

The programme relies on cheaper vaccines that haven’t been approved yet, instead of frontrunners like the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, and while it has non-binding supply agreements with three major vaccine developers, all have had significant trial delays.

Solomon Islands seeks vaccines for half its population
The Solomon Islands had applied for enough vaccines for about half their population through the COVAX programme, said Solomons Ministry of Health spokesperson Pauline McNeil.

An application was made for more than 360,000 people, and if successful, this would be co-financed by the Solomon Islands Government.

“[We’ve] conducted a national cold chain capacity assessment, to check the available vaccine storage capacity, and identified gaps to be addressed prior to receiving Covid vaccine,” McNeil said.

The country has also set up a coordinating committee and technical working group, which were being supported by technical advisors at the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and the World Bank.

Tonga working through WHO plan
Tongan Ministry of Health chief executive Dr Siale ‘Akauola said the country had been working with development partners “for a long time” to prepare for the vaccines.

The kingdom had also applied to COVAC for vaccines, and was awaiting a response.

“We are conscious of the efforts by all countries to get their population vaccinated,” ‘Akauola said.

“The Pfizer vaccine is a fairly high tech vaccine that requires a very sophisticated way of cooling them and I think it maybe beyond the capacity of Tonga to use that type of vaccine, but we will continue to watch and plan what’s best for Tonga.”

Authorities were working through a plan developed by WHO and UNICEF to help countries roll out the vaccine, and it was being developed to fit the Tongan needs.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

When Bauer Media announced the closure of its New Zealand magazine operation just a week into level 4 lockdown in early April, things looked ominous for local media. Revenues and newsrooms were already contracting. It was hard to see things improving.

However, while the full picture is still unclear, it seems most of New Zealand’s TV, radio and print outlets have come through the covid-19 crisis bruised and battered — but alive. Sadly, an estimated 637 media jobs have disappeared in the process.

In short, 2020 has left the New Zealand media market profoundly restructured.

• READ MORE: The sociology of a pandemic: Countering a COVID ‘disinfodemic’ with a campus media initiative – Pacific Journalism Review
• Weathering the covid-19 media storm in NZ

Perhaps most significantly, as the 10th New Zealand Media Ownership Report shows, there are now more independent news outlets in the market than at any time in the past decade.

That trend was underscored by Australian Nine Entertainment selling (for NZ$1) its New Zealand subsidiary Stuff to CEO Sinead Boucher. The sale returned the country’s largest digital news platform and 12 national and regional newspapers to local ownership.

The magazine massacre
Many of these structural changes in the country’s media might have happened anyway, but the pandemic certainly accelerated some decisions.

A case in point was Bauer. The company blamed its closure on “the severe economic impact of covid-19”, but it had been facing declining advertising revenue well before the pandemic hit. This was made worse when magazines were not included among essential goods and services during the lockdown in March and April.

Bauer also closed titles in Australia, but in June the company’s Australasian magazines were sold to Australian private equity group Mercury Capital. The new owner resumed publication of Woman’s Day, New Zealand Woman’s Weekly, Australian Women’s Weekly NZ, Your Home & Garden, NZ Listener and Kia Ora.

Later, flagship current affairs titles North & South and Metro were sold to independent publishers and relaunched in November.

#BREAKING Bauer Media is set to close —the publisher of the Listener, Woman’s Day, NZ Woman’s Weekly, North & South is closing its doors permanently.https://t.co/wxDykUxLB5

— nzherald (@nzherald) April 1, 2020

A government lifeline
You might say the country’s media survived the pandemic with a little help from friends — and even frenemies: the government, readers and Google.

In April, the government announced a $50 million media crisis support package — the lion’s share went to broadcasting.

• READ MORE: Funding public interest journalism requires creative solutions. A tax rebate for news media could work
  
• Courting the chameleon: how the US election reveals Rupert Murdoch’s political colours
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But most of the country’s news outlets received support from the government’s wage subsidy scheme, including NZ Media and Entertainment (NZME) and Stuff, the two largest print and online news publishers.

Without that government support it’s clear many news outlets would have been more severely affected. The NZ Herald received $8.6 million in wage subsidy and Stuff $6.2 million. State-owned broadcaster TVNZ received $5.9 million and the private equity-owned MediaWorks $3.6 million.

The scheme also kept many smaller digital news outlets afloat, and some even expanded.

The Google factor
Some news outlets received additional funding from Google’s Journalism Emergency Relief Fund — slightly ironic, given the impact of the digital giant on traditional media advertising revenues (hence the “frenemy” tag).

A total of 76 news organisations across the Pacific benefited from Google’s “short-term relief”. While smaller publishers welcomed it, the money spent per outlet was unlikely to make any serious dent in Google’s budget — it was more a gesture of goodwill.

For example, Queenstown-based non-profit media outlet Crux received $5000. To put that in context, in the first half of 2020 search engines — mainly Google — received $361 million in digital advertising revenue in New Zealand, along with the social media platforms gobbling up 72 percent of the country’s total digital advertising spend.

For its part, Google says it has done more for the country’s journalism than providing financial aid, and has “trained almost 600 journalists in dozens of newsrooms across the country”.

Higher traffic and increased donations
News companies also got by with a little help from their readers during the pandemic. The NZ Herald reported “overall print-digital readership […] at record levels and newspaper readership [at] its highest in almost a decade”.

Independent digital news outlets Newsroom and The Spinoff also reported spikes in readership and donations or subscriptions. Web analytics confirm overall news site traffic increased quite substantially during the pandemic.

According to data analysts SimilarWeb, total visits to the NZ Herald website grew from 36.5 million in May to 46.4 million in August. Similarly, total visits to the Stuff site went from 39.7 million in May to 43 million in August, while The Spinoff grew from 2.4 million in May to 2.9 million in July.

These positive developments were offset by plenty of negatives, however. Many commercial newsrooms shrank substantially, with hundreds of jobs lost. The full effects of the pandemic will not be known for some time, and what the industry will look like in 12 months is hard to predict.

What is clear, though, is that more government support will be needed in the coming years if New Zealand wants a healthy media system as part of its democracy.

Dr Merja Myllylahti is co-director of JMAD Research Centre, Auckland University of Technology. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

The Northern Marianas is ready for its allocation of covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer after acquiring 10 ultra-cold freezers from South Korea.

The acquisition of the freezers came as the CNMI waits for the Pfizer vaccines to get Emergency Use Authorisation approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Even though the vaccines had not arrived as initially planned, the CNMI had been working on preparing and securely setting up equipment.

The plan is to have two ultra freezers on Rota and two on Tinian, while the remaining six freezers would be located on Saipan.

Meanwhile, the Northern Marianas had already received 10 vials of Bamlanivimab, a treatment for mild-to-moderate covid-19, and would receive another 10 vials soon.

Bamlanivimab is an intravenous drug which is applicable for patients who are 12 years and older and weighing at least 40 kilogrammes and who are at high risk .

The drug will only be administered to those who are covid-19 patients who are at risk of becoming worse.

A total of 1310 doses of the drug had been allocated for US territories and freely associated states.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

The New Zealand government has offered help to the under-pressure horticultural sector by allowing 2000 registered seasonal employer (RSE) workers in to help pick fruit and vegetables this summer.

Growers had complained that without these workers, some produce would rot unpicked.

The government has however imposed strict conditions.

The workers would have to be paid the living wage, of at least $22.10 an hour.

Their quarantine costs would have to be paid by their employer and workers would be paid for at least 30 hours a week while in quarantine.

Recruits would come from island nations in the Pacific, but the government has not specified which countries would be chosen.

Repatriation after the picking season is finished would have to be worked out before the workers could come in.

They would arrive between January and March next year.

‘Listened to the concerns’
“The government has listened to concerns raised by the [horticulture and wine growing] sectors,” Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said.

“We understand their importance for our covid economic recovery. These changes will help support their ongoing success.

“We accept they need help to meet labour shortages that threaten harvests this coming season, so we are acting to allow up to 2000 experienced RSE workers to come to New Zealand from certain Pacific Island countries.”

Due to limited capacity in managed isolation and quarantine facilities, entry would be staggered, with workers coming in groups, O’Connor said.

The 2000 workers being allowed in will augment approximately 6000 RSE workers who did not go home last year.

But it still falls short of the total number that came in earlier – up to 14,400 RSE workers arrive in New Zealand annually.

With many only staying for part of the season, the highest number of RSE workers in New Zealand was 10,500 at the peak of last season.

Blocked by covid restrictions
Their return this year has been blocked by covid-19 border restrictions.

In addition to the RSE exception, working holiday visa holders still in New Zealand with visas expiring between October 2020 and March 2021 will be, or have already been, automatically granted another visa to enable them to work in the horticulture and wine industries this summer.

Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi said the seasonal workers would arrive after the rush on managed isolation facilities as people return to New Zealand for Christmas.

“We are apportioning some of the managed isolation facilities, we’ve planned for this, so there should be plenty of capacity for managed isolation for those Kiwis who have the right, and we expect, to come home,” he told RNZ Morning Report.

There had been some “challenging discussions” with employers over paying a living wage and other conditions, with some in the sector more willing than others.

Individual growers would decide whether to extend the living wage to New Zealanders and visa holders, Faafoi said.

“RSA workers coming to New Zealand are very experienced so making sure they are paid for that experience and for the productivity is important.

“We have certainly seen proposals from sectors and regions of New Zealand where they are quite willing to meet those kinds of conditions, to meet the challenge that they have with the labour supply.”

Financial incentives for New Zealanders
There is also financial help for New Zealanders wanting to work in these seasonal industries.

Minister of Social Development Carmel Sepuloni said unemployed people who move for a season’s work, and are still paying for housing in their home area, will get up to $200 for 13 weeks for accommodations costs.

There would be a $1000 incentive payment for workers who completed jobs of six weeks or longer.

Changes have also been made to the Seasonal Work Assistance Programme for those who have moved off a benefit to take up a seasonal job, but haven’t been able to work due to bad weather and as a result have lost income. Workers will now be able to receive the equivalent of minimum wage up to 40 hours a week, depending on the number of hours lost.

She said labour shortages in the horticulture industry were not unusual and better workforce planning was needed.

Sepuloni told Morning Report the government would like to see wages go up, and there were examples of employers paying more, but it was not industry-wide. “We need to continue to work on that and we’re continuing to do that.”

“We require better workforce planning. It is not just government, it is the industry that also needs to step up.”

2000 RSE workers ‘probably not enough’
Seeka kiwifruit company chief executive Michael Franks said RSE workers would usually make up 1200 of its 3500 workforce, but at the moment there were fewer than 200.

“Our labour shortage coming up at harvest is going to be acute. Anything that takes that acute pressure off is appreciated – but probably 2000 is not enough.”

Seeka was working with MSD and Ngāti Hine in Northland and Te Arawa in Bay of Plenty to try and train more New Zealanders into horticulture work, as well as setting up a programme for workers displaced from other industries.

Paul Paynter, general manager at Hawkes Bay firm Yummy Apples, said workers would have made the living wage or more last year, so pay was not an issue.

There were issues of productivity when the labour market was tight and the company increasingly employs people who may be struggling.

“They’ve had injuries or they’re dealing with mental health issues, or whatever, so we have a lot of people who are not so productive, and we really welcome them, but those are the ones we end up topping up to the minimum wage, because they might pick two bins of apples a day wheras the average worker is picking five.”

For Central Otago grower Stephen Darling, backpackers made up a large part of the workforce, since there is was no large population centre nearby as a source of local workers.

A welcome start
While 2000 RSE workers was a welcome start, the region needed all the workers under the scheme, he said.

The harvest volume will drop and pressure will go on prices a result of the labour shortage, he said.

To date the government has provided border exceptions for up to 30 veterinarians, up to 570 deep water fishing crew, and up to 210 agricultural machinery operators.

In the end many of these did not take up their allocation because of a shortage of places in managed isolation.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

Genome sequencing has showed the Air New Zealand crew member who tested positive for covid-19 in China is not linked to known cases in New Zealand, the Ministry of Health says.

In a statement, the ministry reported one new case of the coronavirus in managed isolation today.

The person arrived on November 14 from the United Kingdom via the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia and tested positive around day 12 of their stay in managed isolation.

• READ MORE: Three PNG government MPs test covid-positive amid political crisis

The ministry said genomic results had been returned for the case of the Air New Zealand crew member who tested positive for covid-19 on November 18 after arriving in Shanghai, China, and was confirmed with testing in New Zealand yesterday.

This indicates the person was likely exposed to the virus overseas, but the ministry said it would continue to take precautions because the source of infection was still unknown.

The ministry had been acting as though it was a case of transmission from New Zealand out of an “abundance of caution”.

The crew member returned to New Zealand yesterday morning on a flight with crew in PPE, who were being monitored, isolated and tested.

Contacts in isolation
The ministry said it had incorrectly reported yesterday that all the person’s contacts were in isolation, saying one person of the 11 reported yesterday was a “potential” close contact under investigation.

Today, the ministry said 12 close contacts had been identified.

All the contacts had undergone further testing, with nine returning negative tests, the ministry said.

It said it sent notifications through the Covid Tracer app for six locations visited by the crew member, which by 10am had been received by 96 app users.

In a separate statement this afternoon, the ministry also announced new rules for frontline managed isolation workers, including nurses and defence force staff.

There was no live briefing today.

New Zealand’s total number of confirmed cases is 1684. The Air New Zealand crew member is not counted in this figure, as it was initially reported in China, so is being counted as a case in China.

Laboratories completed 9083 tests yesterday, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 1,252,601.

Yesterday, there were eight new cases in managed isolation, including five from one family.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

Three government members of Papua New Guinea’s Parliament have tested positive for covid-19.

The MPs, whose names haven’t been publicised, have been in Prime Minister James Marape’s camp during the ongoing political standoff.

PNG’s Pandemic Response Controller David Manning said that an MP was initially tested at the weekend and returned a positive result.

• READ MORE: Wallis and Futuna records third covid-19 case
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According to Manning, the MP was isolated away from the rest of the government camp at Loloata Island, but that contact tracing unearthed more cases.

“As a result of further tests we did pick up another two positive cases, and of course they have now been isolated as well,” Manning told a media conference in Port Moresby.

“I have written in my capacity as controller to the Speaker of the national Parliament, advising him of the three positive cases, and as such I have recommended to him, consistent with our procedures as to what we expect in how to respond to this in so far as the Parliament is concerned.”

Health officials said any recall of parliament would need to follow safety guidelines. In the meantime any other MPs or parliamentary staff who have been in contact with the MP at the Loloata resort are to be isolated and tested.

All three cases are described by health officials as having “mild symptoms”. The new cases in the National Capital District take PNG’s total number of confirmed infections to date to 633.

Local media is also reporting that another MP who had been at the Loloata camp had since also left for Vanimo in PNG’s northwest, where opposition MPs are camped.

Health officers in Vanimo have been directed to test the MP and close contacts.

Supreme Court seeks consensus on date for Parliament
Meanwhile, the PNG Supreme Court case on the legality of last week’s sitting of Parliament has been adjourned until today.

The application filed by former prime minister Peter O’Neill challenges the constitutionality of reconvening Parliament just over a week ago.

Speaker Job Pomat hastily called the sitting despite an earlier adjournment to next week allowed by his deputy.

The recall resulted in Parliament being adjourned to April.

This would enable Prime Minister James Marape to avoid a likely vote of no-confidence after dozens of MPs defected from his coalition this month.

According to the NBC, Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika urged parties in the proceedings to reach a consensus before the matter goes back for directional hearing tomorrow.

He suggests that if the opposition’s desired date for Parliament sitting on December 1 can be moved to another date, it can give time for the Supreme Court application to be heard.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

Honey is helping to keep Pitcairn Islanders afloat after the global pandemic stopped cruise ship visits, a growing source of revenue for the island.

This year 21 ships were due to visit Pitcairn which was settled by Fletcher Christian, his fellow Bounty mutineers and their Polynesian wives in the late 18th century.

Their descendants, who make up most of the 42-strong population, make money selling souvenirs and other local produce when the vessels anchor offshore during tours of the Pacific.

• LISTEN TO RNZ DATELINE PACIFIC: Interview with Meralda Warren – Duration (3m:49s)

Homestay experiences were also part of the offering to the few tourists who venture to Pitcairn, a two-week boat journey from New Zealand.

Pitcairn Islander Meralda Warren said locals depended on the tourists and households were making between NZ$12,000 and $20,000 annually.

She said there had only been three cruise ship visits this year and income from tourism was now “almost non-existent”.

Since March, the only ship allowed to visit has been the supply vessel Silver Supporter, based in Tauranga, New Zealand.

“We’re very strict. No yachts, no ships are allowed to stop. We’ve had a few come by but they haven’t been allowed to come ashore,” Warren said.

But thankfully online sales of honey had increased over the past couple of months, she said.

“So the honey is still flowing however it’s terribly, terribly slow,” she told RNZ Pacific, pointing out the delays in shipping out of New Zealand because of the pandemic.

Since August, the island, a British territory, had also been receiving extra aid from the British government to the tune of $500 per person per month, according to Warren.

“It goes towards our store bill and paying off our medical loans,” she said.

EU-funded improvements to community buildings had also helped the island this year, Warren said.

Workers were being paid $10 an hour to build a new community centre, store and post office.

Isolation of Pitcairn in a pandemic ’emotional’
Pitcairn Island is one of only a handful of places world-wide which are free of covid-19, which made Warren feel privileged but quite emotional.

“We’re in isolation anyhow yet I don’t feel isolated. Sometimes I feel sad knowing how many people are dying,” she said.

“I sometimes feel guilty I’m living a normal life here on Pitcairn, one that I’ve known all my life and others … out there, they’re struggling.

“That makes me really, really sad that I can still drive or walk around Pitcairn and I can stop at a bush and pick off a berry or pick a banana off a tree, or taro from the valley,” she said.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

Fiji’s rugby team is set to have another round of covid-19 testing today as they seek to salvage what is left of their Autumn Nations Cup tour of Europe.

Over the weekend it was announced the Flying Fijians would have their third consecutive test match cancelled due to a coronavirus outbreak in the squad.

The team’s match game against Scotland, originally set for November 29, has been cancelled like the other two other matches.

• READ MORE: 29 positive tests sees Fiji vs Italy rugby test cancelled

Fiji’s clash with Italy was supposed to be played last Saturday gone, but was called off after 29 members tested positive for covid-19 last week.

A test against France was cancelled the week before as it became evident the virus was present among the touring party.

Fiji Rugby CEO John O’Connor told RNZ Pacific there would be more coronavirus tests today.

The BBC reported organisers saying halting the Scotland match was “unavoidable” due to the 10-day isolation period for players.

There is still hope that Fiji would still be able to play their final scheduled match against the fourth-place Pool A side on December 5.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

The world was ablaze with hope following the announcement last week that a vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech may be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19.

New Zealand politicians were quick to point out 1.5 million doses had already been pre-purchased through a legally binding agreement signed in late September to buy any vaccine to emerge from the multilateral COVAX facility.

Within the week, a second potentially effective vaccine emerged from US biotech firm Moderna. Health Minister Chris Hipkins would not say if New Zealand had negotiated for this option.

• READ MORE: Moderna follows Pfizer with exciting vaccine news – how to read these dramatic developments
  
• COVID-19 vaccines could go to children first to protect the elderly

But assuming an approved vaccine is coming, attention then turns to logistics. Funding, procurement, storage and distribution all raise significant questions about values, decision-making and ethics.

We know there are multiple candidates for a covid-19 vaccine, but there will be few “winners”, as many countries have already pre-contracted substantial amounts based on calculated risk assessments of which will emerge first. Even then, the challenges will be immense.

For example, assuming the Pfizer vaccine does become available as a safe option, it must be held in “ultra-cold storage” at -70 degrees Celsius. As has been observed already, “Distributing an effective COVID-19 vaccine to the global population will likely be the greatest logistical challenge since World War II.”

UPDATE: We are proud to announce, along with @BioNTech_Group, that our mRNA-based #vaccine candidate has, at an interim analysis, demonstrated initial evidence of efficacy against #COVID19 in participants without prior evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

— Pfizer Inc. (@pfizer) November 9, 2020

Who gets a vaccine first?
For New Zealand, as with all countries, the questions raised are complex: do we now spend a large amount of money to scale up a logistics, distribution and storage system for the Pfizer drug? Or should we wait for an alternative that is more effective, easier to transport and store, and possibly cheaper?

After all, the first available vaccine might not achieve the outcomes we want. But would it be fair (or feasible) to make the country wait?

Furthermore, because enough doses to treat everyone will not be available immediately, it will be necessary to prioritise recipients. What are the country’s obligations here? Do we offer the vaccination first to the oldest, or the youngest, or the most vulnerable?

National health systems will have some idea about how to go about this, but wealthy countries have never faced an immediate requirement on this scale.
An ethical framework
Answering these questions means calling simultaneously on a number of different ethical perspectives:

• an ethic of justice to assess the fairness of a decision
• an ethic of consequentialism to look at outcomes
• the ethics of obligations to see who we may have made commitments to
• an ethic of care to look at individual cases, rather than relying on abstract logic.

Only when we combine these perspectives can we begin to make sense of priorities.

The vaccine marketplace is a kind of oligopoly, with a few extremely large firms deciding which vaccines get made, when and at what price. Pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to invest in producing new vaccines for the developing world because they have little prospect of earning an attractive return.

While global organisations such as vaccine alliance GAVI have been instrumental in getting vaccines to developing countries, given the geopolitics of procurement it could be a long time before an effective COVID-19 option reaches the poorest populations.

We just announced that mRNA-1273, our COVID-19 vaccine candidate, has met its primary efficacy endpoint in the first interim analysis of the Phase 3 COVE study.
Read more: https://t.co/vYWEy8CKCv pic.twitter.com/YuLubU1tlx

— Moderna (@moderna_tx) November 16, 2020

The moral dimension
All this points to the deeper ethical issue of inequality. Many agencies, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), have demonstrated that health outcomes are related to socio-economic, ethnic and gender inequalities. COVID-19 has only made these inequalities worse.

Only last week, for example, a UK study showed 57.7 more people per 100,000 have died in the poorest areas of northern England than in the rest of the country.

This matches other research showing how the pandemic has disproportionately affected poorer families, including their being less likely to be able to work from home or adapt to home-schooling.

Limited or selective availability of a vaccine could exacerbate these problems. And while New Zealand may be in a relatively privileged position, this doesn’t mean there won’t be negative consequences for other countries.

This adds an international dimension to our national dilemma: we have a duty to protect our own citizens, but is there a way we can minimise harm to others at the same time?

Dr Barbara Allen is senior lecturer in public management, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington, and Dr Michael Macaulay is professor of public administration, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

The meat industry is waiting with bated breath to find out if there is any truth that New Zealand meat is linked to a coolstore in China where covid-19 has been found on packaging.

Reuters has reported the virus was found on beef and tripe products in a storage facility containing shipments from Argentina, Brazil and “essentially covid-free” New Zealand.

The virus was apparently found on more than 3500 products in the eastern Chinese city of Jinan, in Shandong province.

• READ MORE: Masks to be compulsory on some NZ public transport
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Apart from saying where the products originated, Chinese authorities have not named the companies that shipped them.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it had not been informed officially by Chinese authorities, and officials were trying to find the origin and veracity of the media reports.

In the post-cabinet briefing this afternoon, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the government was advised yesterday that there had been positive covid-19 tests from packaging of beef from Argentina.

They were also advised that there were some New Zealand products stored in the same coolstore where the positive tests were returned.

Government seeks more information
Unlike some media reports, they were not advised that any New Zealand products had tested positive. The government was seeking more information on the testing.

“I want to get to the bottom of this … this is incredibly important to New Zealand. We are confident, of course, that our products do not and are not exported with signs of covid on them given our status as essentially being covid-free,” Ardern said.

Minister of Trade Damien O’Connor said there was nothing to suggest the virus originated in New Zealand.

“We have been aware of the Chinese investigating the possibility of covid spreading through frozen goods. It’s a very, very slim possibility. Genetic material can be found on the goods, we know that, but the risk of it spreading infection is very, very low.”

He said it was a timely reminder to exporters about the risks.

“If they have people who are sick, working anywhere in New Zealand even though we have no community transmission, they should take all precautions and make sure people don’t come to work.”

The Meat Industry Association said they were essentially in a holding pattern awaiting more information from China, with chief executive Sirma Karapeeva saying the science suggested transmission of the virus on frozen products was negligible.

‘No evidence’ of NZ implication
“We haven’t had any feedback from our members that suggests that their product has been caught up in this and they should know, they’ve got really close links with their importers in China. So I tend to agree with the minister, it’s not clear or seen any evidence to suggest any New Zealand product has been implicated.”

She said it proved China was serious about the risks of covid getting back in.

“They have stepped up their product testing on imports. They are testing all products as they come through the border, so clearly they are taking this very seriously and in a way it’s positive to see that they are focused on managing Covid within their own borders.”

Karapeeva advised people to keep calm and carry on.

“Now is not the time to panic, we have very good systems in place for food safety as well as for covid management and we are confident those systems are robust in managing transmission within New Zealand, so as long as companies follow the rules I think they should be fine.”

AgriHQ senior sheep and beef analyst Mel Croad said meat exports to China were heading into the busiest period of the year so any hiccup was a worry.

”From here until about March-April, our export volumes are ramping up every month just reflecting those higher processing volumes back here. It’s crucial that we have got a good flow into our export markets.”

The Ministry of Primary Industry’s assessment remains that the risk of covid-19 transmission by food or food packaging is negligible.

The Meat Industry Association said it was unfortunate New Zealand products seemed to be implicated in something with very little or no evidence.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

A new study on the impact of social media in the Pacific during the covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has warned about the potential for misinformation or disinformation to have “dangerous outcomes”.

But the report also acknowledges the importance of the so-called “coconut wireless” in Pacific information sharing and says that an effective communication programme can provide “contextually specific understanding” and allow science practitioners to inform and engage.

The study by Vipul Khosla and Dr Prasanth Pillay, entitled Covid-19 in the South Pacific: Science Communication, Facebook and Coconut Wireless, has been published in JCom-The Journal of Science Communication. It was commissioned by the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS) and both researchers are employees of the ABC division for International Development.

• READ MORE: The Pacific Media Centre’s covid-19 news file
• Tropical Cyclone Harold meets the Novel Coronavirus

“It was clear from our analysis that the planning and implementation of effective science communication around covid-19 requires both an informed sensitivity to cultural contexts (e.g. food security challenges when local markets are inaccessible due to COVID-19 guidelines), and a commitment to using consistent terminology in public health messaging,” the study says.

“The global mainstreaming of terms such as ‘social distancing’ both by the WHO [World Health Organisation]and international and local media as part of common parlance, makes reverting to an alternative term particularly challenging for communication practitioners and one that requires prior consideration at a national level by key stakeholders.”

The researchers repeatedly refer to the role of the “coconut wireless” in communication and the spread of scientific messages in Pacific contexts in their analysis.

“The ‘coconut wireless’ is an informal phrase/slang that has a historical sense of playful notoriety in the Pacific as a way of referring to the centrality of ‘word-of-mouth’ (or interpersonal) accounts in the dissemination and discussion of news and rumours,” say Khosla and Dr Pillay.

“The phrase was used consistently in discussions on COVID-19 (under the sampled analysis period) to flag presumed factual inconsistencies, [or] to clarify the authenticity of a story where news sources are not clearly defined.”

The researchers found a high penetration of technology devices and internet access in the South Pacific, social media – mostly Facebook – was used for disseminating information about covid-19 in the Pacific, and several countries used Facebook as their source of information for alert systems such as with Tropical Cyclone Harold.

“Given Facebook’s high penetration and usage rate in the Pacific, the platform serves as an active space for information exchange and deliberation around COVID-19,” says the report.

The study cites five issues to know about Pacific social media and the “coconut wireless”:

1. The “practice of doing science communication” is just as important as the science itself: “The methodological practice of curating and classifying evidence in scientific disciplines is valuable in educating [Pacific] audiences on the need to base their assertions and observations around covid-19 on carefully selected evidence.”
2. Audience/user centred approach to science communication: “There is a greater need to understand audiences and users of science information to ensure that science communication practitioners understand the context and landscape in which the information is received, interpreted, and shared.”
3. Social media and online discourse as a “rich source’ of understanding audiences/users: “Social media and online platforms offer publicly available information that can provide rich insights into how audiences and users engage with scientific terms.”
4. Consistency in the use of scientific terminology: “The use of commonly paired terms such as ‘quarantine, isolation’ and ‘physical distancing, social distancing’ can result in confusion among audiences. Furthermore, these terms become embedded into common parlance once introduced in official channels of communication and are accordingly adapted and appropriated, taking a life of their own.”
5. Greater institutional focus on media literacy: “There is value in developing and promoting audience-oriented discussions around media literacy at a regional and national level (if not extensively done already). These could comprise of sessions to members of the public that explain clearly how to critically evaluate media sources and differentiate between trusted avenues for news and science communication and typically problematic sources.”

The study was conducted across 23 Pacific mainstream Facebook pages from 1 February to 31 May 2020, showing that in the South Pacific there were three ways of communication used – including oral communication and rumours, online discussion, and science discussion.

“Communication and information flow in the Pacific tends to first originate from interpersonal forms of conversation outside the online sphere, through word-of-mouth,” says the study.

However, the research finds that there are some limiting challenges that cause users of social media to accept information shared by authority.

• The full research report

Minister of Covid-19 Response Chris Hipkins says he is hopeful a lockdown can be avoided in New Zealand’s largest city after a community case of covid-19 surfaced in Auckland yesterday.

He told RNZ Morning Report preliminary results from genome sequencing suggest the woman’s case was linked to a recent Defence Force cluster.

He later announced this afternoon there had been no additional community cases linked to the latest Auckland case – which has now been directly connected to the Defence Force cluster – and there would be no change to the alert status (level 1).

Today’s media briefing by minister Hipkins. Video: RNZ News

The Auckland CBD can reopen, but the government will make mask wearing on public transport in the Auckland region mandatory on an “ongoing basis”.

Earlier, in the RNZ interview Hipkins said: “That’s looking pretty encouraging. We won’t get the final result of that until later on this morning but it is looking more likely that we will be able to identify a link with the defence group that we’re also dealing with, that will be very very helpful if we can do that.”

• READ MORE: Al Jazeera coronavirus live updates – German bank proposes 5% tax on home workers to address covid inequality
• Covid-19: NZ tells Auckland workers in downtown to work from home
• Mystery case visited AUT campus in central Auckland this week

The minister said there were a few more pieces to the puzzle to come, but that enough information would be available to make a decision this afternoon on whether to change covid-19 response levels.

The woman in her 20s, who had no connection with the border or managed isolation, lives at the central city Vincent Residences apartment complex.

The minister said investigations, involving CCTV footage analysis, would determine whether the virus was spread from a nearby quarantine isolation facility.

RNZ reported that residences had not been told of the outbreak when its reporters arrived at the scene yesterday, with one man saying he had been rejected from getting tested at two centres because they were too busy.

Other residents, he said, had avoided self-isolating at the building when they were told by leaving immediately.

Testing team dispatched
Hipkins said a testing team was dispatched to the building, but that the process took time and that health officials didn’t have an unlimited number of staff available.

“My understanding is Auckland regional public health officials were liaising with the building manager. They did send people to the building, but it may have taken them some time to get there.

“I was assured last night that the testing team arrived on site, so we’ll get an update on that later on this morning.”

The woman who has the virus, a student at Auckland University of Technology, works at the A-Z Collection clothing store on High Street. She developed symptoms on Monday, went for a test on Tuesday and was told to isolate. Health officials say she called in sick on Wednesday, but after talking to her boss put on a mask and went in.

Hipkins would not be drawn on whether the case should be investigated by WorkSafe, but said it was a disappointing situation.

“My message to all employers, up and down the country, is that if someone rings in sick and says ‘I need to stay home’, well, do everything you can to support them to do that. When it’s related to Covid-19 there is additional financial support available to businesses if they need that.”

His comments were echoed by Auckland Mayor Phil Goff. He told Morning Report incidents where people go into work when sick could not be allowed to happen again.

‘Basic rule to follow’
“One thing that stands out in this case – the most basic rule that we all have to follow is, if you’re sick with symptoms please stay at home,” he said.

“Particularly if you get tested and are advised to stay at home, you have to follow that advice. It’s unbelievable that a person arrives at work after they’ve been tested before they have the results.

“Obviously if her story is true, any suggestion that pressure was put on employees showing symptoms to come to work, that’s just crazy. That can’t be allowed to happen.”

Goff also urged all Aucklanders to take a precautionary approach and use face masks and the QR code.

“The advice that we get from the Ministry of Health this afternoon is going to be critical. Auckland Council is taking a precautionary approach … we’ve closed the library, we’ve closed the art gallery, Auckland University is closed and people are doing exams online.”

Officials are tracing the woman’s movements over the weekend.

On Saturday, she went to Smith & Caughey’s on Queen Street and Red Pig Restaurant on Kitchener Street. On Sunday and Monday she bought takeaways from Starbucks Queen Street, Sunnytown Restaurant on Lorne Street, and the Gateau House on Queen Street.

About 100,000 Aucklanders who work in the CBD were urged to work from home today.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

A New Zealand covid-19 community case identified in Auckland today had called in sick to work after being tested but went to work wearing a mask after talking to their boss, officials say.

All people who work in downtown Auckland are being asked to work from home where possible tomorrow because of the new case.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said there had still been no direct source of infection identified. Any changes to alert levels will be announced tomorrow, he said.

• READ MORE: Tahiti covid cases top 11,000
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• Three new NZ cases, two in community and one in managed isolation

The next update on the case and any decisions will be tomorrow afternoon.

Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay said Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) had interviewed the person.

The student in her 20s was one of three cases announced at the afternoon media briefing today.

McElnay said the woman’s job was a customer-facing role. She called in sick to work after being tested but went to work after talking to her boss, although she wore a mask.

Uber trips to work
The person took Uber trips to work and those drivers are being contacted and advised to be tested.

Hipkins said it was a disappointing situation. He is asking employers to be “good” and accommodate staff calling in sick by allowing them to stay at home.

The person has three close contacts – a colleague and two friends – who are being tested and isolated, McElnay said.

All reported being well, but the two friends had been asked to isolate as a precaution.

There was no history of the positive case moving outside the Auckland CBD, she said.

Her apartment building is next door to a managed isolation facility.

The hotel had a fire alarm evacuation on Monday night, but that was not likely to be the source of the infection because the woman became symptomatic that same day.

Residents told go home
All residents of the Vincent Residences have been asked to go home and stay home while testing takes place. The apartment building is being deep cleaned and a mobile testing station would be available outside, Dr McElnay said.

ARPHS is informing the residents at the positive case’s apartment building of the information they need to know.

Dr McElnay said the person was already symptomatic, so reports of mingling between guests and the public are unlikely to point to a source of infection.

Hipkins said the case’s workplace numbers were quite small, but the apartment complex was quite large.

Testing at the site was “about to get under way”, he said, and suggestions of the source of the infection at this point were speculation.

This afternoon, the Covid Tracer app was used to send notifications to users who may have been at the same places as the positive case. The number of people who received the notifications is not yet known.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

• Places the positive woman visited are listed at RNZ News
• Full list of covid testing locations

The first-ever covid-positive case in quarantine at Kwajalein and the arrival of the first group of 27 Marshall Islanders being repatriated last week has triggered a series of responses, actions and concerns.

Confirmation last week of one active covid “border” case at the Kwajalein missile range put residents and political leaders in the Marshall Islands on edge.

A second American tested positive, but follow up antibody testing showed it was a “historical/recovered” case as the person had covid in July, and was no longer contagious.

• READ MORE: Covid at Kwajalein army base sparks Majuro worry, protocol changes – by Giff Johnson

Both Americans who tested positive, a 35-year-old female and a 46-year-old male, are in managed quarantine at the Army base.

Ten months into the covid-19 pandemic, the active case ends the Marshall Islands tenure as one of a handful of nations with no covid cases.

In addition, two Marshallese in the first group of 27 being repatriated initially tested positive their day of arrival last Saturday. But follow up antibody tests clarified that these were also “historical/recovered” cases, which Ministry of Health officials said were no longer contagious.

Among recent developments:

• In line with the one active case of covid that was diagnosed through testing of a male American USAG-KA worker in quarantine, the RMI National Disaster Committee changed the condition level of RMI from yellow to blue, signifying a border case had been identified. Authorities said this case was contained and there was no spread.

• Nitijela members at Friday’s Committee of the Whole, Majuro Mayor Ladie Jack and Ebon Mayor Marie Milne all called on the Army to send the two Americans back to the US. The RMI government sent a letter to the US late last week with the same request. The US reportedly rejected the request.

• The regular USAG-KA Tuesday repatriation flight this week was postponed, the first week since June 9 that the Army will not be bringing in a group of workers for quarantine. It was delayed at the request of RMI to make the protocols stricter for USAG-KA so they are in line with the RMI government protocols, particularly for quarantine in Hawai’i.

• Mayor Jack called on the National Disaster Committee to halt flights between Majuro and Kwajalein, and take other precautions to prevent possible spread of covid to Majuro.

• Mayor Jack also threatened to file suit in the High Court through a process known as a “writ of mandamus” — which requests the court to issue an order directing a government office to do its job — to halt travel between the two atolls.

• The full NDC met with the Majuro Mayor and Council Tuesday night. Chief Secretary Kino Kabua said the meeting helped to fill in a lack of information about the situation at Kwajalein, and resulted in a delay to the Mayor’s plan to file suit. Kabua said the meeting led to improved understanding of the situation with the Mayor and Council.

• To meet the Majuro elected leaders’ concern part way, the Chief Secretary agreed to put a temporary hold on flights bring passengers to Majuro from Kwajalein through Friday, when a follow up “town hall” meeting is scheduled at Majuro City Hall to meet with traditional leaders and landowners on the Kwajalein situation. AMI can still operate flights to Kwajalein, but cannot bring passengers into Majuro.

• The Chief Secretary’s office issued numerous public statements since late last week to update the public on the situation with the arrival of last week’s USAG-KA group and the first Marshallese group last Saturday. Among the points emphasised was about “historical/recovered” cases:

“A historical/recovered Covid case is not infectious. It just means they have already had the disease and are no longer a threat to the community. We determine this by giving an antibody test which shows whether or not a person has had the virus in their past. Many people contract Covid and don’t know they have had it. This will be a common occurrence as long as repatriation efforts continue.”

• On Wednesday, Mayor Jack raised concerns about Colonel Bartel flying into Majuro this past Monday for several afternoon meetings and for a planned follow up visit this Friday. He said these visits should be subject to protocols, particularly in line with the government’s directive to AMI to temporarily halt bringing passengers to Majuro from Kwajalein.

The Pacific Media Centre republishes Marshall Islands Journal articles with permission.

The Post-Courier newspaper says a company, Niugini BioMed Ltd, set up just a month ago, will be be commissioned to create a new “miracle drug” that will save people in Papua New Guinea and around the world from coronavirus.

The newspaper said several ministers were not happy with the K10.2 million (US2.8 million) grant because they did not believe proper processes were followed, reports RNZ News.

But Prime Minister James Marape said the report was based on leaked national executive committee (NEC) documents and was a deliberate attempt to discredit his government.

He said the government had yet to make a decision on the grant.

Two commentaries about the controversy have been published this weekend on journalist Scott Waide’s independent blog My Land, My Country.

• READ MORE: ‘Million kina covid cure’ – K10 million awarded to company started just one month ago
• PNG leader says covid-19 esearch grant not yet decided

View 1: Explaining the process of drug development
By Barbara Angoro, a PNG doctoral student in Auckland

Reading the news on covid-19 drug production in Papua New Guinea has prompted me to do my take on it. Those who are familiar with drug research and development will agree with that screening for possible drug leads is just the start to call it a drug, there has to be research done and data available on the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile of the drug.

Drug screening is the most basic step
Based on what I read in the Post-Courier, I get the impression that the academics have done simulations using existing drug molecules that are likely to have some drug activity against covid-19.

In a drug development timeline, this is the most basic step – you screen a whole heap of possible molecules and come up with a few potential candidates. After this step, the real drug development research happens in the lab:

Is it safe? What’s the mechanism of its actions? How is it absorbed, broken down, distributed in the body, excreted ? What is the best dosage to give? What are the side effects?

How does it work in different groups of people? If there are existing treatment, does this one do better? How do you dispense this drug – through the mouth, injection etc?

Drug development is a lengthy process
After these parameters are determined, it leads to next stages that involve clinical research and finally a review done by regulatory authorities to get approval to be used as a “drug”.

These steps can take up to 10 years, and one must have an equipped and accredited laboratory in order for the developed drug to be recognised. Because of the pandemic situation, teams around the world are fast tracking processes to find a possible vaccine for covid-19.

Covid-19, being a virus, makes it hard to find a drug cure – it is always several steps ahead, mutating and changing.

Not only that, but unlike bacteria which have their own machinery to survive, viruses tend to use the host machinery (body) to replicate.

Scientists around the world stick to vaccine development
Development of a drug that will target only the virus without causing toxicity to the human host has proved difficult. Hence, many scientists worldwide are sticking to vaccine and not drug development.

While I believe in PNG taking lead in drug research and development, I strongly feel that taking an approach that involves building the necessary infrastructure first, getting accreditation and looking at developing drugs that will target common illnesses seen in our country would be the way to go.

A well thought out plan with solid financial backing would do – not a novelty concept for covid-19 which quite frankly, based on past virus outbreaks, could quickly resolve just like it appeared, making this endeavor come to nothing.

This is my personal view as a PNG citizen (with a pharmaceutical science and pharmacology background) and does not represent that of any organisation that I am associated with.

View 2: Other priorities outweigh giving K10 million to a start-up
By Deborah Ruth Telek

We cannot even get National Agriculture and Quarantine Inspection Authority (NAQIA) accredited laboratories up and running around Papua New Guinea for various lab testing our requirements.

These labs are used for testing water supply samples and processed food samples for public safety. But we want to leap frog over all the other things this country needs and do drug research.

Wow!

The National Institute of Standards and Industrial Technology (NISIT) is failing and cannot handle the local calibration of weights, thermometers and other standard measurement equipment so it needs to be outsourced or referred to the private sector.

It seems we have forgotten about the necessity of this associated enabling environment and are considering paying a start up entity for drug research.

Shocking!

Let’s say goodbye to our tax money! I mean, the government has just restructured an existing loan with the Bank of the South Pacific (BSP) and given us some breathing space so that K10.2 million is possibly just loose change that fell out of the Prfime Minister’s pocket while he was listening to their spiel.

I wonder if the EMTV news item, about Niugini Biomed justifying themselves, is reminiscent of how they presented to Prime Minister Marape?

Imagine if they were rambling like that in front of the PM too? Would he still buy it, hook line and sinker, with that poor presentation?

Right thinking Papua New Guineans would say NO to the Biomed proposal in its current form and at this time.

We have other pressing priorities!

Articles from Papua New Guinea journalist Scott Waide’s blog My Land, My Country are republished by the Pacific Media Centre with permission.

The covid 19 coronavirus is so small it is estimated around 500 million of them could fit onto a pin head. Yet, over the last 11 months  – yes, less than a year – this tiny thing has brought the world economy to its knees and caused an enormous amount of human misery.

Dreadful as this pandemic has been, however, it has taught us some valuable life lessons.

We have allowed too much of our economy to be determined by international money and forgotten we once lent and borrowed from each other within our country to great effect
That is not to say that all foreign investment is bad, but the operative word is “investment”.

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• Skegg warns against ‘complacency, slackness’ in NZ

It is hard to see, for example, how allowing a Chinese company to mine fresh water virtually for free and put it in plastic bottles to pollute the planet is “investment”. It’s exploitation.

We have allowed ourselves to become victims of mass consumption and forgotten that we can live with far less stuff in our lives. We once made many of the things we need – from clothes and shoes to railway engines.

Yes there was less variety and we cannot make everything our high tech society now requires, but we were more self-reliant and less dependent.

The pandemic has also forced many of us to re-evaluate our lives. Do I really need to work from an office in town or can I work effectively from home?

Do I want to live a simpler life? What matters most to me? … are just a few of the questions with which people are grappling.

In other parts of the planet covid is multiplying at breakneck speed. If we want to keep Aotearoa/New Zealand at level, 1 we need to keep up our vigilance at the border, using the contact tracing procedures and keep up social distancing whenever possible.

Because perhaps the most important lesson covid has taught us is how dependent we are on others for our own well-being and that you can’t have any kind of lifestyle – if you don’t have a life.

Kia kaha

Bryan Bruce is an independent filmmaker and journalist. The Pacific Media Centre is publishing a series of occasional commentaries by him with permission.

Epidemiologist Sir David Skegg is concerned at the level of complacency the public and government is showing towards covid-19 since the country reverted to alert level 1.

It comes following the revelations that an unknowingly infectious person visited an Auckland pub on Friday 16 October, as well as the influx of new imported and isolated cases at the Sudima Hotel in Christchurch where hundreds of members of a fishing crew are staying in managed isolation.

A pop-up community testing centre was being set up in Greenhithe today for members of the public.

• READ MORE: Al Jazeera coronavirus pandemic: ‘A long slog’: IMF says Asia faces a slow recovery
• Russian fishing crew not feeling too unwell, says Sealord boss

However, the owner of The Malt pub in Greenhithe, where the infectious person visited, told RNZ’s Morning Report that when he went to get tested on Wednesday night he was told by staff to come back on Thursday for a test as the wait time was over three hours long.

Sir David, an epidemiologist at the University of Otago Medical School and former chair of the Public Health Commission, told RNZ Nine to Noon the messaging from the government was not clear enough and was leading to a cavalier attitude among the public.

“I think we all have to bear in mind the possibility, or in fact the certainty, that this virus is going to get into our community from time to time,” he said.

“There will be increasing pressure to relax our borders which clearly has happened with these deep sea fisherman and I think the rest of us need to behave with that knowledge.

”I’m really concerned’
“I’ve been really concerned now for two or three weeks – I still always use my app to record a QR code, I hardly ever see anyone else do it. I haven’t flown recently…

“People tell me most people aren’t wearing masks on the plane and again the government gave the wrong message there, I think, because I think people have just been led to believe that we’ve defeated this virus and we haven’t.

“It’s going to keep happening – and if we want to avoid lockdowns we’re going to have to change our behaviour.”

Sir David also believed officials had dropped the ball over the bunking of rooms at the Sudima Hotel in Chrischurch.

“Having people two to a room is sloppy procedure, it doesn’t make sense because it’s quite easy to work out that one person could infect the other who would not give a positive test before they come out into the community, so it just defies the principles of quarantine,” he said.

“To have a whole lot of people who have come from a country [Russia] with one of the highest incidences in the world, two to a room, I can only assume it was done as an economy measure to save the company, who are presumably paying for this quarantine…

“I sort of feel that it’s worrying that this kind of thing is happening, it almost seems as though the authorities don’t understand that the epidemiology is a disease.”

Clock reset to zero
Yesterday, the head of Managed Isolation and Quarantine, Air Commodore Darryn Webb said that if a crew member at the Sudima Hotel tested positive for the virus, then the clock would reset to zero for the person sharing a room with that person.

That would mean they would have to stay on an additional 14 days in managed isolation to ensure they aren’t infectious when they enter the community.

If someone in NZ really did get infected after just 3 mins contact then looks like we’re going to need to be isolating all casual contacts as well as close, or redefining what we mean by close.

— Dr Siouxsie Wiles (@SiouxsieW) October 21, 2020

Sir David said the testing surveillance throughout could also be stronger.

Yesterday more than 7000 tests were conducted, raising the rolling weekly average to 4449.

He said it was hard to know if that was enough.

“Certainly my anecdotal observations, talking to people who have had symptoms that could’ve reflected covid-19 suggest to me we’re not testing as consistently as we should,” he said.

“But testing is just one of the things, we need to keep practising sensible physical distancing, I’m trying to avoid shaking hands with people, it’s actually quite awkward, but actually shaking hands is a great way of passing viruses around.

“We just need to be vigilant because we’re so lucky in New Zealand, we’ve done so well, we’re enjoying freedoms and security that just are a distant memory in most countries, but we shouldn’t assume this is going to go on forever if we don’t take precautions.”

Sir David said the government should enforce the wearing of masks on public transport during the Labour Day long weekend to help stop any further community spread of covid-19.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

• For up-to-date information on testing locations in Auckland call Healthline on 0800 358 5453 or visit the ARPHS website.

Hundreds of Russian fishing crew at a New Zealand covid isolation hotel in Christchurch are said to be in good spirits and those who have the virus are doing well.

Eighteen of the 237 foreign workers at the Sudima Hotel are infected with covid-19.

They will all be tested again today with more positive cases expected.

• READ MORE: NZ has 25 new covid cases – 23 at border, 2 related to port worker
• Covid-19 outbreak among Russian fishers at NZ isolation facility

Sealord is one of the three companies which bought the crew into the country to work on its deep-sea trawlers.

Chief executive Doug Paulin managed to speak to some of them yesterday.

“We’ve been able to find out that they’re feeling positive, they’re feeling well looked after.

“They appreciate the lengths that the facility are going to to make sure they’re kept isolated and that protocols are being followed.”

No ‘adverse affects’
Those who have tested positive are not feeling too unwell he said.

“As far as we know none of them have any significant adverse affects [and are] feeling very well-managed in that facility.”

Paulin said they understood they would probably have to stay in isolation longer.

That also meant the trawlers were left sitting in port but he said that was not the company’s top priority.

“Our concern is around the welfare of our crew, there will likely be a delay because the Ministry of Health need to work through everyone being covid-19 free before they leave the facility then it needs to be cleaned before the next plane arrives into the country.”

Anna Filippochkina from the Russian Cultural Centre in Christchurch is worried about the crew being sick so far from home.

She has not spoken to the crew directly but expects anyone in their situation would find it stressful.

“They might feel lonely, they don’t know what to expect in the future so support from the community is very important and that’s what we want to do.”

She said the Russian community is going to come up with a plan to make the workers feel more at home.

Next chartered flight may be delayed
Health Minister Chris Hipkins told RNZ Morning Report the next chartered flight, due on November 2, could be delayed.

“The next charter flight will not come to New Zealand until we have cleared this one which means that it will be delayed if we need to because we don’t want to overcrowd that facility,” he said

“There is a lot of cooperation from the fishing companies who are chartering these flights, bearing in mind that this is the facility that they are paying for, that this is 100 percent their cost and they are being cooperative.”

Hipkins said the ministry would need the majority of the crew currently staying at the Sudima to have been released before the next plane can arrive.

He said a review found all the PPE requirements had been met at the Sudima and the transport from the airport to the hotel.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

Some 11 cases of covid-19 have been confirmed at a New Zealand managed isolation facility (MIQ) in Christchurch, with another 14 possible cases being investigated.

The Ministry of Health said last night it was investigating after the cases were detected during routine day three testing.

None involved cases in the community, it said.

• READ MORE: Covid-19: ‘Major outbreak’ at Christchurch isolation facility housing dozens of international fishermen

The ministry said the positive cases were part of a group who were the only people staying at this facility.

Further details would be reported today, it said.

Stuff has reported several new cases have been detected at the Sudima Hotel where a number of international fishers are staying.

RNZ reported last week that more than 400 foreign fishers were headed to New Zealand to crew deep sea trawlers after failing to find Kiwis to fill the jobs.

Charter flight from Russia
A charter flight from Russia arrived in Christchurch on Friday, where the first 200 crew began managed isolation.

The crew are mostly Russians with others coming from Ukraine. Russia has recorded more than 1.3 million cases of covid-19 – the fourth highest number of any country.

Seafood New Zealand chief executive Jeremy Helson said all the men were tested before they flew to New Zealand.

“All of these fishers were covid tested before they took the charter flight into New Zealand. All crewmen tested negative. This pre-flight test was beyond what the government required,” Helson said.

“While we wait to see how many cases there are, the fact that they were all detected in quarantine shows the system is working well.”

Healthcare, isolation stays to be paid by fishing companies
Sealord chief executive Doug Paulin told RNZ Checkpoint he only knew what had been reported in the media and had not been contacted by the Ministry of Health or managed isolation and quarantine.

“I imagine that will take place in the near future,” he said.

“They’ll have a protocol and a process they need to follow and I think the most positive thing we can take out of this is that border protection at work.”

A total 237 Russian and Ukrainian fishermen arrived in Christchurch on Friday – to work for Sealord, IFL and Maruha – with 69 of those from Sealord. Paulin said all the workers came in on a private charter flight from Russia and only fishers and air crew would have been on the plane.

Paulin said he had no regrets about bringing the workers to New Zealand.

“This is a significant economic issue for not only the fishing companies themselves, but to a raft of other companies across New Zealand.

“There are no Kiwi workers that can do these jobs. Some of these fishermen have been fishing for 25 years.

“They have qualifications which take many years to receive and – at this point in time – there are not enough New Zealanders who actually have those qualifications to do those roles.”

Paulin said any additional costs such as healthcare or longer stays would be looked after by the fishing companies.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

Asmat regency in Papua has decided to limit access to and from the area for 28 days, starting last Sunday, after eight people in the regency’s capital Agats tested positive for covid-19 on Saturday, reports The Jakarta Post.

Acting Asmat regent Triwarno Purnomo said the administration would only allow ships carrying staple supplies to enter Asmat during the restriction.

However, Pelni ships carrying passengers are prohibited from entering, while air transportation activities are only available for emergencies.

• READ MORE: More covid-19 stories on Papua

Besides access limitation, Asmat has also applied a curfew, with business activities now only allowed to run between 6 am and 6 pm local time, while previously they were allowed until 9 pm.

“We also halt educational and religious activities, while limiting office hours until 2 p.m. Moreover, only five people are allowed to be in each office site [on a daily basis],” said Triwarno.

Kompas.id reported on Sunday that the eight people had mild symptoms and were under self-isolation in their respective houses.

According to the Asmat covid-19 task force, the five infected people worked as healthcare workers at Agats Regional General Hospital (RSUD) and a community health center (Puskesmas). As a result, the RSUD had to temporarily shut down its outpatient care unit due to the transmission cases.

Previously a green zone
Previously, Asmat was a covid-19 green zone. An area is considered a green zone when it is no longer recording any cases.

With the latest development, Asmat, along with 20 other regencies and a city, are categorized as red zones.

According to the Asmat Health Agency, the regency only has 25 doctors that are stationed in 13 Puskesmas, out of a total 17 in the area. The regency has no pulmonologist.

“We’re pushing for strict implementation of COVID-19 health protocols in the hospitals and all Puskesmas in order to protect our healthcare workers, who are very limited in number,” said Purnomo.

Asmat Health Agency head Richard Mirino said having the virus spreading in the area was a risky situation for the regency due to its limited health facilities and healthcare workers as well as challenging geographic condition and its residents’ low awareness of living healthily.

Mirino referred to a measles outbreak in Asmat in 2018, which infected 670 children, 80 of whom died.

Papua covid-19 task force head Welliam Manderi said the provincial administration would issue a circular, ordering all parties to increase the implementation of health protocols at each regency and city’s gates.

Manderi admitted that the number of confirmed cases on a daily basis was still higher than the number of recovered cases over the past month.

• As of Monday, Papua had recorded a total of 8239 confirmed covid-19 cases, 4438 recovered cases and 117 deaths, reports The Jakarta Post.

The Director-General of Health says a ship now bound for Brisbane is believed to be the most likely source of transmission in the latest covid-19 case in New Zealand.

A marine electronics engineer tested positive for covid-19, the Ministry of Health confirmed yesterday.

The man had been working on several ships in the lead up to his positive test result, including one at the Port of Taranaki on Wednesday, October 14. He became symptomatic on Friday, October 16, and sought a test.

• LISTEN TO RNZ MORNING REPORT: ‘The other thing we are hoping to get through today is the whole genome sequencing on the case’s Covid-19 test” – Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield (9m 30s)

The man had been getting regular testing, he tested negative on 2 October.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) said the risk of community transmission is low because the man had limited contact with members of the public. His household contacts are self-isolating and other close contacts are being investigated, the MoH said.

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield told RNZ Morning Report it was unlikely the ship he worked on in Taranaki, now anchored at sea awaiting clearance to dock in Napier, is the source of the transmission.

“There’s one (ship) in particular that he worked on around the 12th and 13th of October that is considered the most likely one that he might have been infected on. That vessel’s now departed New Zealand, so there’ll be some work with authorities, actually it’s on its way to Brisbane, so there’s work with authorities there to be done, they’ve already been notified that it’s on the way.”

Dr Bloomfield was unaware of how long the ship (bound for Brisbane) had been at sea, but crew onboard are not allowed to come on shore unless certain protocols have been met beforehand.

“Even if a ship has been at sea for 14 days, because of the nature of that closed environment … the close quarters within which the crew and or passengers are living, it means that the virus can sort of bounce around for much longer than 14 days and you may have … the whole crew with negative tests [but] someone could still be incubating the virus.”

Dr Bloomfield said the man had been working on the ship in New Plymouth for six hours.

The man also stayed at a motel and hotel during his stay in New Plymouth. The Devon Hotel, where he stayed, had been thoroughly cleaned, its owner said.

Dr Bloomfield added investigations into the where the case came from are ongoing.

“The other thing we are hoping to get through today is the whole genome sequencing on the case’s Covid-19 test because it will give us a hint about where the origin of his infection might be.”

Dr Bloomfield said the MoH will consider whether the time between testing of port workers needs to be shortened because of this latest case.

• ‘The pandemic is just intensifying globally” – University of Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker (3m29s)

More cases like this will ‘keep popping up’ – Professor Baker
University of Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker told RNZ First Up to expect similar cases to this one in the future.

“The pandemic is just intensifying globally, New Zealand has many connections with the outside world via airports, sea ports and arriving passengers and all of those situations that can allow the virus to get back into New Zealand.

“If we look now at the pattern of the last couple of months, we’ve had four other examples of the virus coming across the border, assuming the large Auckland outbreak was also introduced in this way, so this is really the fifth example of the last two to three months. We are seeing a pattern, it’s not probably going to be a very predictable pattern, but I guess the good news is that the last four of these breaches have all been very small and picked up quickly.”

Michael Baker said by all accounts, the man did everything right and should be commended for his pragmatism.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

The convicted murderer of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, died on Saturday after testing positive for covid-19.

“He died at 2:52 pm at Pertamina Hospital [in Jakarta],” Pollycarpus’ former lawyer Wirawan Adnan said on Saturday as quoted by kompas.com.

Wirawan said he received the news from Pollycarpus’ wife, Yosepha Hera Iswandari. He added that Pollycarpus had been diagnosed with covid-19 just over two weeks earlier.

• READ MORE: Be fearless, Mr President – like Munir – Marguerite Afra Sapiie

The former Garuda airline pilot was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2006 for his role in the death of the prominent human rights campaigner during a flight from Jakarta to Singapore on September 6, 2004.

He was granted parole by the government in 2014 and officially finished his sentence in 2018.

The Solidarity Action Committee for Munir (KASUM) said Pollycarpus’ death should not end the investigation into Munir’s death.

“It is important to note that the murder of Munir was not simply a crime but a conspiracy that involved many parties besides Polycarpus who must be found, tried and punished,” KASUM secretary-general and constitutional law expert Bivitri Susanti said in a written statement on Saturday.

‘Lack of political will’
“We believe the investigation into Munir’s murder is not held back by a lack of evidence or by Pollycarpus’ death but rather by the government’s lack of political will.”

Bivitri also called for the authorities to open an investigation into Pollycarpus’ death, given his knowledge of the masterminds behind Munir’s murder.

“Authorities should conduct an objective and open investigation into Pollycarpus’ death in order to dismiss any suspicions,” she said.

Tri Indah Oktavianti is a journalist with The Jakarta Post.

French Polynesia’s former president Gaston Flosse has tested positive for covid-19, prompting a deferral of today’s appeal court hearing.

Flosse and the current President Edouard Fritch, who is also covid-19 positive, appealed against last year’s joint conviction for abusing public funds.

Fritch had been fined US$50,000 while Flosse had been given a suspended two-year jail sentence and been banned from holding public office.

• READ MORE: Two more covid-19 fatalities in Tahiti as more cases reported

The two had been convicted for their actions as current and former mayors of the town of Pirae from the late 1980s onwards.

They had arranged for the town administration to pay for the water supply to the upmarket Erima neighbourhood, where Flosse lived.

The appeal court case is now expected to be heard on November 12.

Flosse, who is 89, has not held office since 2014 when he was forced to quit the presidency because of a corruption conviction.

The French territory of Wallis and Futuna has reported its first case of covid-19 and the person is in isolation at the hospital.

The Northern Marianas total of covid-19 cases has hit 80 with three more cases reported.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

By RNZ Pacific

French Polynesia’s President Edouard Fritch says he has tested positive for covid-19 on his return from France.

A government statement said that despite knowing about the risks, he undertook the trip to France to deal with a range of issues of importance to French Polynesia.

It said he followed the travel protocol for Tahiti and tested negative three days before flying back.

During his stay in France, he met Prime Minister Jean Castex and President Emmanuel Macron.

The latest official figure showed French Polyensia had 2754 cases of which 633 were active. There have been 10 deaths.

In July, the borders were reopened and mandatory quarantine requirements were abolished in order to boost tourism and revive the economy.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

By Melanie Sison in Manila

Reopening of classes calls for community effort and not just schools ensuring the safety of students and personnel, an online forum heard.

Organised by SciDev.Net Asia & Pacific, the webinar event brought together experts on education from across the region to discuss ways to go about formal education under the new normal.

“We face the realisation that the third pillar of universities and higher education institutions — which is engagement with society — must stop being the poor sister of the other two pillars [education of students and research],” said Dr Zinaida Fadeeva, a visiting professor at Nalanda University, India.

• READ MORE: SciDev.net – Science and technology from an Asia-Pacific perspective

Dr Fadeeva said the importance of engaging with the communities plays a role in determining whether educational institutions should reopen.

“It’s defined by factors which characterise the functioning of individual universities, as well as society itself,” she said. “It’s about preparedness to treat people, it’s about the testing and tracing system, it’s about how people move, socialise, live, travel.”

Measures to ensure physical safety, including accessibility to covid-19 testing kits and medical facilities, however, also have to be balanced with students’ needs.

“The consideration of physical safety comes with the principle of not leaving anybody behind,” Fadeeva said, referring to the guiding principle of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Logistics organised around universities
“It’s about the whole logistics organised around universities and the region that would determine whether universities will open or not.”

Adjusting to the new normal means ensuring that students have access to education regardless of whether schools are physically open or not. It also means capacitating teachers and other educators to enable them to become more flexible and respond quickly and effectively.

Dr Fadeeva said that the covid-19 pandemic helped forge strategic partnerships, including between private and public educational institutions, that go deeper in community engagement.

A new possibility is the retooling of the methodologies of learning and action research employed by universities and educational institutions.

“New skills of bringing results of research to communities and the government also needs to be developed,” said Dr Fadeeva, adding that this kind of retooling could also bring different revenue streams.

She said that local governments and the private sector were potential clients and important given that universities have lost revenue because of the pandemic.

The education sector now also sees the bridging of schools and homes, said Professor David Robie, director of New Zealand’s Pacific Media Centre – “[The lockdown] enabled the opportunity to move out of schools and into homes”.

“Teachers have had to adapt and innovate to ensure learning is learner – and family-friendly,” he said. “Learners introducing their teachers and peers online have produced deeper personal level of connections that they can continue to build on.”

The internet has also allowed partnerships to be formed beyond the immediate community.

Dr Robie said that one gain from the covid-19 pandemic is the networking of academic institutions from different countries.

“We had very little contact in the academic context with much of Asia,” he said. Online conferences and webinars have allowed his faculty to work with members of the academe from the Philippines, Indonesia, and other parts of Asia.

“Education is not just about content; it’s about building relationships,” said Dr Robert Roleda, vice-chancellor for academics of De La Salle University, Philippines.

“One of the bright spots of this pandemic is that it showed us that there are actually ways wherein we can get more engaged with people from around the world.”

He said that the shift to online learning of education institutions is a reflection of how the internet grew.

“The development of Internet was enhanced by collaboration by the sciences,” he said.

This article was produced by SciDev.Net’s Asia & Pacific desk and was originally published on October 4. It is republished by the Pacific Media Centre with permission.

New Zealand’s Minister for Pacific Peoples, ‘Aupito William Sio, says a total of 264 groups and individuals have successfully applied for the Pacific Aotearoa Community Covid-19 Recovery Fund.

The money, NZ$2.95 million, is to support Pacific communities in their recovery efforts.

The minister said he is keen for Pacific communities to become “the authors of their own solutions in response to covid-19.”

The fund provides grassroots initiatives which will give up to NZ$5000 to groups who have a new idea.

Acceleration initiatives of up to NZ$10,000 for groups who have already tested ideas and have shown good results.

And then there are “lift-off” initiatives – funding of up to $50,000 for groups with tested ideas and which are looking to collaborate with other community groups.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

The other day I wrote a post on my blog which invited people to: “Take care of others by taking care of yourself.”

It was attacked by so many trolls, haters and conspiracy theorists that when I returned to my page later that evening I estimated it would take me about an hour to go through the 170+ comments to separate the thoughful ones from the mean-spirited.

Because I refuse to allow people to hijack my page and spread misinformation I decided the quickest way was to delete the whole post and republish it.

• READ MORE: Al Jazeera coronavirus live updates –  Facebook removes Trump post saying covid-19 is ‘like flu’, Twitter hides similar post
• White House grinds to a halt as Trump’s press chief joins covid-infected list

So my apologies to the 500+ people who registered that you “liked ” this post and wrote thoughful comments.

TAKE TWO:

When I first wrote in support of the approach New Zealand’s public health officials and our government were taking towards dealing with the covid -19 pandemic, there were a number of people who commented that I was perpetrating a hoax, promoting fear, or even that I was somehow promoting a totalitarian state and other such conspiracy nonsense.

The news last week that President Trump, who has consistently downplayed the seriousness of the pandemic, is now infected with covid-19 ( along with his First Lady) – and he has left hospital while still suffering – should be a reminder to us all to reject stupidity and remain vigilant in our fight against this virus.

No one is immune.

If we want to keep our friends and whanau safe and give our economy the best chance to recover, then it is important to follow the advice of our public health officials.

Keep up regular hand washing and sanitising, maintain social distancing whenever possible, wear a mask in public places, recording visits to assist rapid contact tracing, border controls and compulsory self-isolation.

Because, in the absence of a vaccine, these are still our best strategies to deal with this pandemic.

Take care of others by taking care of yourself.

Bryan Bruce is an independent filmmaker and journalist. The Pacific Media Centre is publishing a series of occasional commentaries by him during the NZ election campaign.

• Trump, still battling covid-19, leaves hospital for White House
• US president leaves hospital for White House
• Michelle Obama brands Trump a ‘racist’
  

Aucklanders are being warned not to be caught napping again when it comes to the covid-19 pandemic.

New Zealand’s largest city is preparing to join the rest of the country in alert level 1 from Thursday.

But some experts are worried the government has kept no extra precautions up its sleeve for the riskiest city in the country.

• READ MORE: Al Jazeera coronavirus live updates – ‘We beat the virus – again’ message from New Zealand
• Solomon Islands has first case of covid-19

Epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker is disappointed the government has decided to ditch compulsory mask use on public transport, in line with nationwide level 1 rules, rather than keeping them in play in Auckland.

The government was instead focusing its public health message on telling people to wash their hands, keep track of where they go, and stay home and get tested if they become sick.

But Dr Baker said masks should be high on that list as well.

They were an excellent barrier to stopping spread – and another layer of protection, he said.

Mask use ‘more effective’
“I’m not in any way saying we don’t need to wash our hands – I think that’s vital – but actually mask use is almost certainly more effective at containing covid-19,” he said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she would like to see a culture change when it came to New Zealanders wearing masks more, but it was up to individuals to decide what they felt most comfortable doing.

Auckland University associate professor of public health Colin Tukuitonga said sometimes that sort of change needed a nudge – and making masks mandatory on buses and trains could help.

“The downside is negligible and if you want the population to get used to it I would have kept it going,” he said.

The rule could also normalise mask use in other situations, Dr Tukuitonga said.

Auckland was most at risk of getting another outbreak, with more isolation hotels, returning New Zealanders, and border workers than anywhere else.

Dr Tukuitonga said the government should also have kept a restriction on gathering numbers there, for the short term at least.

Stopping large spreaders
That would help stop any large spreading events as well as keeping people alert to the possibility of another outbreak like the one that hit in August after months at level 1, he said.

“We do run the risk of a big sigh of relief, everyone celebrating and then falling into a slumber again,” he said.

Auckland’s August cluster – of 179 – is the country’s biggest but there are now only five active cases.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

• All RNZ coverage of covid-19
• If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs) or call your GP – don’t show up at a medical centre.