Latest News

• Covid-19: Another $15.7m allocated to boost vaccinations, resilience among Māori A further 12 proposals totalling $15.7 million have been approved by Ministers through the Māori Communities Covid-19 Fund to build resilience and continue to support vaccination uptake. The contract amounts range from $138,000 to $4.8m and focus on areas with low vaccination rates and high Māori populations in rural, isolated, and low socioeconomic areas.
• Covid-19: Daily case numbers not showing extent of Omicron spread – Michael Baker 810 cases were reported on Sunday, a near doubling of the day before. Epidemiologist, professor Michael Baker says these record case numbers are not showing the true spread of Omicron, warning the real number could be as much as 10 times the official figures.
• Covid-19: All New Zealanders likely to encounter virus in coming weeks
  Experts are urging those eligible for a Covid-19 booster vaccine to get their shot as soon as possible after a near-doubling of daily Covid-19 case numbers. The Ministry of Health reported 810 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday – a steep jump from the previous day’s record tally of 454 cases.
• New fund targets 20,000 nurses who have left profession
  The Health Ministry has launched a $1 million fund to attract former nurses back to the profession in the pandemic. The fund is to cover training, English language tests, and personal costs like childcare and transport. The ministry’s chief nursing officer Lorraine Hetaraka said there are more than 20,000 New Zealand-trained registered nurses who are not currently practising.

Government & Agency Updates

• Latest on COVID-19 community outbreak – Monday, 14th February
  Today there are 981 new community cases of Covid-19. These cases are in Northland (21), Auckland (768), Waikato (82), Bay of Plenty (23), Lakes (12), Hawke’s Bay (5), MidCentral (5), Taranaki (1), Tairāwhiti (6), Wellington (6), Hutt Valley (14), Wairarapa (12), Nelson Marlborough (2), Canterbury (4), South Canterbury (1) and Southern (19). There are also 25 new cases in MIQ.
• COVID-19 media conference — 8 February 2022 
  Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern provides an update on our response to COVID-19.
• Unite Against COVID-19 – Vaccine Update: The Big Boost 
• Unite Against COVID-19 – All of Government COVID-19 Message Grid
• Ministry of Health – Mai i te Manatū
  Māori COVID-19 Response Update – 13 February 2022
  Big Boost campaign, R.A.T tests update, general updates.
• MIQ Weekly Quick Report: Wednesday 09 February 2022

Research & Resources

• Dr Rawiri Taonui – Omicron and Māori
  Racism at the heart of Ministry of Health refusal to release tamariki Māori data. The Ministry of Health must release the tamariki Māori vaccination data requested by the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency.
• NZ Doctor Journal – December 2021
  Article and resource on monitoring, management, and treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in the community.
• ‘Ko te tamaiti te pūtake’ – the Māori approach to the tamariki Māori 5-11 year olds immunisation campaign
  This document provides a high-level overview of the programme, work done to date, design of the campaign, and timeline to provide iwi, hapū, whānau and hauora a basis to plan from.
• COVID-19 Data Visualisations: NZ in numbers
  All the information you need to stay up to date with the latest Covid-19 case numbers, testing and vaccination data in New Zealand.
• Information resource pack for COVID-19 positive whānau and individuals
  Health Navigator have collated a range of COVID-19 topics to support COVID-19 positive people who are self-isolating/quarantining at home.
• Community Care Booklet – Support if you get COVID-19
• Readiness Checklist – Is your household ready if someone gets COVID-19
• What to expect when Self-Isolating

Other News Items

• Covid-19: School mask mandate tricky for some
  Principals say some schools and teachers are ignoring or misinterpreting the mask mandate for school children.
• Police negotiators making ‘good progress’ in bid to end occupation of Parliament’s grounds
  With the anti-vaccination mandates protest within the grounds of Parliament entering its seventh day today, police have crack negotiators on the job trying to end the occupation.
• Paediatric vaccines rollout: Call for more suitable times for tamariki to receive shots  Three weeks into the rollout of the paediatric Covid-19 vaccine, 42 percent of those aged five to 11 have had their first dose. There are 476,000 tamariki eligible for the vaccine. Twenty-four percent of tamariki Māori have had their first dose, while Pasifika are at 32 percent.
• Covid-19: Restrictions under red traffic light ‘take their toll’ on SMEs
  Nearly a third of small and medium sized businesses are experiencing a drop in sales since the country moved into the red Covid-19 traffic light setting.
• Covid-19 vaccination for children: What you need to know
  Explainer – The roll out of Pfizer’s paediatric Covid-19 vaccine for children is beginning on 17 January and those aged five to 11 will have a chance to get a dose and reduce the risks of the virus. (17 Jan 2022)