Daily Archives: August 22, 2021

My Kiwi friends ask, somewhat jokingly, how Im finding my first New Zealand level 4. I answer, also somewhat jokingly, that Im a veteran at this, having lived in London and Dublin for most of the pandemic, and had gone through several hard lockdowns.

Thats why it was unfortunate, the day before New Zealand went into one, it felt like Groundhog Day to me.

Supermarket carparks filled and queues snaked out of their entrances. By the end of the night, the same products that ran out at the beginning of the first lockdown were emptied out once again: bread, toilet paper, flour. The government had moved quickly, carrying out a plan developed for a Delta outbreak, but the population did not appear to have the same sense of danger: the shoppers and staff were, for the most part, unmasked.

I had witnessed the same in London, where I was living at the beginning of the pandemic. Back then, we still regarded it as being something that would pass soon enough. We laughed at people stocking up on masks; I turned down a family friends offer to siphon off some supply the Chinese embassy had given her. As we waited for the UK government to announce a lockdown, we continued going out, calling it a last hurrah.

In those days, we were lucky the coronavirus was still in its initial, far less infectious state. We didnt hear much about people we knew getting the virus; these days, everyone in London knows at least one person whos gotten Delta. Over in Australia, weve seen the quagmires New South Wales and Victoria have found themselves in.

We know more now. There is something to be said for Kiwi chillness, but this behaviour seemed downright foolish.

The first day of the lockdown, my mum went out for a grocery shop at a Countdown and she saw no staff wearing masks; in pictures she took for me, one worker had a mask over their chin, another didnt have one on at all. On a local community Facebook group, members announced other supermarkets where staff werent wearing them either. It should be said that this was all legal, as the mask mandate for indoor spaces didnt go into effect until the next day, but the number of maskless people says something.

Perhaps this is a result of how successful the country has been at sealing itself from the ravages of Covid-19: it had gone almost six months without an active community case; there had not been any nationwide lockdowns for almost a year and a half.

When I was overseas, I felt like Kiwis were living in an alternative reality, though really, life continued unabated.

When I returned and came out of managed isolation in May, I went to a cafe for lunch and sat outside. I only had to step a few paces inside to pay, but I felt like my face was unduly exposed. That feeling was easily shaken off; it was easy to forget the virus existed if I didnt look at anything that spoke about the rest of the world. I can see how New Zealands residents have been lulled into this false sense of security.

This complacency has manifested in many ways: only 10% of the population were constantly checking in with the Covid tracing app; masks, which were mandated only on public transport until this lockdown, were not being worn. At least vaccination bookings have skyrocketed these past few days. Those, like some of my parents friends, who were putting them off for whatever reason have realised this is no safe haven.

Though the risk of catching the coronavirus in this country has been small, it was inevitable that Delta or another variant further down the Greek alphabet would eventually breach the bubble. I felt we lacked the constant vigilance required for an elimination strategy. Kiwis, like our namesake bird, have been living without the threats of predators that roam beyond our shores. On Friday, more cases were identified elsewhere in the country. The only way well get through this, and future outbreaks, is if we are ready from the outset.

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In New Zealand it has been easy to forget Covid. Now we are too complacent - The Guardian

There are 21 new cases of Covid-19 in the community today, bringing the total number of people infected in the outbreak to 72. One million New Zealanders are now fully vaccinated.

COVID LATEST* Almost 300 locations of interest: Auckland gym, supermarkets, tourism school named* Countdown staff bear brunt of customer annoyance at meat shortages* Derek Cheng: Ongoing lockdown for Auckland, but for how long? And what's the Plan B?* Watch: Chris Hipkins' amusing raunchy slip up at Covid press conference* Jamie Morton: How did Delta get into NZ?* Opinion: Testing chaos a consequence of Government caution

Case numbers could rise for another five days, says Associate Minister of Health Ayesha Verrall - and numbers today could be the highest we have seen so far.

And hopes that some of New Zealand might be able to move out of a full lockdown early seem to be up in the air - Verrall says "tens of thousands" of Aucklanders left the region when the lockdown was announced, and that's a risk.

"I think [falling case numbers] could still be a wee way away - it could be another five days before we see the impact of the transmission that was happening in the community prior to lockdown pass through," Verrall told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking.

Verrall said it was possible we could see a higher number of cases today than we had in previous days.

Asked whether Auckland was in for another four weeks in lockdown, Verrall said she didn't have a view on today's Cabinet decision but there were still areas of ongoing risk around the country, particularly Auckland.

Verrall said officials did not know where every exposed person went in New Zealand when the lockdown was announced and that was the risk when changing alert levels by region.

She acknowledged that "tens of thousands" of people had left Auckland. "That's the level of risk we're dealing with there."

Asked who would look after borders when and if alert levels changed by region, Verrall said there was a lot of work going on. Police would look after roads while MBIE would do businesses affected by road blocks.

Cabinet will meet today to decide on whether to extend the nationwide alert level 4 lockdown beyond midnight on Tuesday, which most observers think is inevitable. The decision will be announced by the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at 4pm.

There are 72 Covid community cases - 66 in Auckland and six in Wellington - and five people are in hospital, but are not requiring intensive-care treatment. A queue of cars is already lining up at the Henderson testing station this morning, following tens of thousands of tests at the weekend.

"In terms of the decision, we get a lot of the informtion in the hours before the decision is made but one thing to be aware of, we are only in day six of this lockdown," said Verrall.

She told TVNZ contact tracers had managed to find 10,000 close contacts connected to the almost 300 locations of interest.

She said it was "massive" that 5 per cent of the Auckland population had been tested. When demand was high for testing, people who were at highest risk were prioritised. She said sometimes there was a delay in letting people know if their tests were negative.

Verrall told The AM Show: "We are in a situation where we need to be very cautious and we are making sure we are adjusting the response as we go to deal with these pressures."

Verrall said she did not think an outbreak could be turned around with contact tracing alone when the government was dealing with Delta. She believed lockdown was also needed to get on top of it.

Verrall told Hosking that the country could do up 60,000 vaccine jabs a day.

The government planned to offer everyone a vaccine by the end of the year. "My message to New Zealanders is almost everyone is eligible to book if not right right now, but in the coming days so just get online and book," she told The AM Show.

An adviser to the Government on Covid-19 is warning Kiwis to prepare for a "messy and frustrated" exit from lockdown to a life that may not be as free as the last 18 months.

Wigram Capital Advisors' Rodney Jones, who has been advising the Government on Covid-19 throughout the pandemic, warned that the highly transmissible Delta variant would make for a difficult exit from lockdown.

He said New Zealanders may need to prepare for life not going back to the way it was before the latest outbreak.

"We're not going back to what we had for the last 18 months," Jones said. "At what point do you say, 'You had a fantastic 18 months, but in some ways the future we face is not going to be as good as that'."

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Jones said that in hindsight, the country should have been at a permanent state of level 2. "We should have been at level 2. Once we had a certain number of Delta cases at MIQ that's quite a different mindset you have to have," he said.

Jones said his pessimism was down to the extraordinary transmissibility of the Delta variant of the virus, which he thinks is no match for even New Zealand's relatively good MIQ system.

The pandemic had forced "tough choices" on New Zealand: to shut the border completely, (which is impossible and maybe illegal) manage a closed border using MIQ, or to use vaccinations to protect people.

Jones said managing a functioning MIQ system with Delta was going to be difficult, meaning "our only defence becomes vaccinations".

"You go from the public-national defence to the individual armour of the vaccine," Jones said.

Jones' comments come as the number of cases in the latest outbreak continued to rise over the weekend, although not at the same breakneck pace as the outbreak in New South Wales, which announced more than 800 new cases on Saturday and Sunday.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins and director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced 21 new cases of Covid-19 in the community on Sunday, bringing the number of cases likely connected to the latest outbreak to 72.

The number of locations of interest ballooned to almost 300, and included a large number of mass gatherings.

Hipkins said the decision would go down to the wire on Monday, with Cabinet waiting until it gets the latest case data before making a decision on alert levels.

"We will give people plenty of notice," Hipkins said. "There's still more information to gather."

The big question is how long places like Auckland and Wellington will need to stay in lockdown to stamp out the virus - and whether stamping out the Delta variant is even possible long-term.

Jones said New Zealand's response was "limping to year-end" at which point a decision would need to be made about how the Covid strategy would evolve. But the key would need to be high rates of vaccinations.

"The equilibrium in this pandemic will be found when the virus stops mutating so quickly and the vaccines have caught up with that," he said.

Jones said that the latest outbreak was tracking better than Victoria and New South Wales, meaning the country might avoid a prolonged lockdown.

Fellow modeller Shaun Hendy, whose team had also done modelling for the Covid response, was more optimistic.

Hendy said an extension of lockdown through to the end of the week is likely.

"Given the high number of exposure events I think there is still a chance it's got to parts of the country other than Wellington," Hendy said.

Only by the middle of next week can we start giving the all clear in other parts of the country.

Hendy said there is a "good chance" of getting ahead of the virus "assuming we don't see clusters outside Auckland and Wellington".

He was hopeful that once vaccinations had been widely rolled out to 70 per cent of the population, that level 3 and 4 lockdowns might be taken "off the table".

"We're still going to see things like masking, scanning a supercharged contact tracing system, maybe we can start taking those alert levels out of our levies - at least alert level 3 and 4," Hendy said.

Another decision the Government will have to make today is what to do with Parliament, which is due to return tomorrow.

That decision could be down to the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern alone, who can request the Speaker delay the return of Parliament by a as long as a month, on the advice of Bloomfield.

Hipkins, who also serves as leader of the House, suggested that if the return of Parliamentary sitting was delayed, the Parliament's select committees would reconvene to provide scrutiny of the Government.

"We'll have conversations with the other political parties before we make that decision - part of those conversations will include how we ensure democratic scrutiny in the event Parliament cannot meet in person as it ordinarily would," Hipkins said.

"That will include considerations of select committee meetings, televising of select committee meetings and a whole variety of other things," he said.

Canterbury University Covid-19 Modeller Michael Plank told RNZ today he expected to see 20 new cases per day. But there may be more given the large events that took place.

He said it would not be until the second half of this week before we started to see any sign that lockdown was having an impact on the spread.

It was "definitely good news" that there seemed to be one cluster only.

"We're not completely out of the woods yet in terms of another cluster being out there, people could still be in the incubation period," he said.

Delta had a "wide ranging" incubation period.

He said it was possible that people were not yet sick but were still infectious. He predicted that the L4 lockdown would last at least another week.

"I think it makes sense to go week by week at this stage, a lot can change in a week, and in a week's time we will start to see the impact of that lockdown," he said.

He said at some point regions outside Auckland could come down in levels but we needed to remain cautious given people could still be in the incubation period.

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said charges are "very likely" for a group caught jetboating near Wanaka over the weekend.

He told RNZ it was "incredibly disappointing" to see the men from multiple bubbles breaching the rules of lockdown.

He expected an update later today with news of charges against the group.

Coster said most people were behaving.

"We're pretty happy at what we're seeing, by and large, at the moment," he said.

In terms of protests he said police had taken a "pretty firm approach" and people had "dispersed quickly".

Most people had acknowledged "now was not the time" to be out in force.

Coster said police were not against lawful protests but during Level 4 restrictions it was not appropriate.

He was concerned at what was happening in Australia with protests but did not believe New Zealand would see numbers of people breaching lockdown to gather at this stage.

Seven Countdown stores in Auckland remain closed due to staff shortages after people were identified as close contacts and had to self isolate.

Countdown spokeswoman Kiri Hannifin told RNZ there were about 20 incidents a day where people refused to wear masks or showed violence or aggression towards staff.

She worked yesterday as a "greeter" at a store.

One person did not want to wear a mask but "by and large" they were compliant.

She said police would be called in any situation where someone threatened staff safety.

Hannafin said stocks were "holding up pretty well".

There were limits on items that "sell very well at times like this" but there was lots of stock. "The stores are looking good," she said.

Hannafin said the company's biggest fear was Covid hitting the distribution centres."We've been worried well before the current situation we're in," she said.

However there were very strict protocols in place at the centres.

Hannifin said front facing staff started to get vaccinated on Saturday. There was a dedicated site just for Countdown staff.

She went herself on Sunday and said it was "joyous" to see staff and their families getting vaccinated. "I am incredibly relieved... they deserve it, they are essential workers," she said. "I'm so happy."

Northland, Taranaki and Christchurch would all have similar opportunities. "It's awesome, so good," she said.

Hannifin reiterated that Kiwis should shop in store if they could - which would free up online services for those who really need it.

"Including 400 of our own staff who are home and can't leave," she said. It was possible some stores could be dedicated for online orders only.

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Covid 19 coronavirus Delta outbreak: Decision day looms as experts wonder if New Zealand will ever return to normal - New Zealand Herald

Workers and shoppers eat on the steps of Freyberg Place in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, on October 29, 2020, enjoying the freedom of Covid-19 Alert Level 1.

Lynn Grieveson | Newsroom | Getty Images

New Zealand was widely expected to become the first advanced economy to raise interest rates, but the central bank left rates unchanged on Wednesday after one Covid case led the country to announce a nationwide lockdown a day earlier.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand said in a statement the decision to hold rates at 0.25% was made "in the context of the Government's imposition of Level 4 COVID restrictions on activity across New Zealand."

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern imposed a nationwide lockdown when the first Covid case in six months was discovered in Auckland, the country's largest city.

The city will be under lockdown for seven days starting Wednesday, while the rest of the nation will observe a three-day lockdown. Level 4 restrictions are the highest in the country and the most restrictive, where people must stay home and can only leave only for essential services.

As of Wednesday morning, the number of cases detected had risen to seven and were confirmed to be the highly transmissible delta variant, according to Reuters.

Paul Bloxham, chief economist for Australia and New Zealand at HSBC called it an "extraordinary 24 hours," and a "very touch and go knife-edge situation."

"This morning ...we find that it's delta (variant), and, you know, at that point 24 hours ago, the market was thinking that the RBNZ wouldn't just deliver 20 but 25 (basis points)," he told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia."

Before Wednesday's rate decision, Michael Gordon, acting chief economist for New Zealand at Australian bank Westpac, said he did not expect a rate increase.

"The key here is that the Government cannot be confident about the scope of the (Covid) problem," he said in a note on Tuesday, after Ardern's lockdown decision.

Analysts mostly expected the central bank to raise rates, at least until the lockdown was announced. The majority of the 32 economists polled by Reuters expected the central bank to raise the official cash rate by 25 basis points from a record low to 0.50%.

Most central banks globally have slashed rates to record lows in a bid to prop up their pandemic-hit economies. Governments around the world have been injecting stimulus into their economies to support businesses.

But New Zealand has been among the most successful in the world to keep their Covid cases in check with tough lockdowns and shutting of its borders.

Major central banks in the APAC region are in no rush to start hiking policy rates ... with the exception of New Zealand and Korea.

Maxime Darmet

Fitch Ratings

Due in part to its zero-Covid strategy, the number of Covid cases has so far been kept at about 2,500 cases, including 26 deaths among the lowest in the world.

That's helped the economy to bounce back, with data showing first-quarter economic growth this year was above expectations. It was mainly driven by strong retail spending, falling jobless rate, and soaring housing prices.

The combination of minimal Covid restrictions and generous stimulus has led to a booming economy and rising inflation, leading analysts to expect higher interest rates.

The New Zealand dollar fell to 0.6944 against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday.

The currency has been falling since the lockdown announcement on Tuesday, from above the 0.70 level to above 0.69.

Bloxham said the New Zealand dollar could recover once the Covid situation is contained.

"If (the lockdown) is sufficient to get the virus contained, to keep the numbers small and push it right back to zero ... then you'd imagine in a few weeks time ... the economy's back on track and likewise there'd be sort of upside to the New Zealand dollar," he told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia."

With the expected hike now derailed, analysts said it would now depend on the scale of the virus situation.

"Regardless of the economic case for higher interest rates, there is nothing to be gained from pushing the (official cash rate) higher now, rather than waiting for more clarity on the Covid situation," Gordon of Westpac said.

He said that experience showed economic activity tends to bounce back once restrictions were lifted. "When that happens, the RBNZ will be left facing many of the same issues as before: an economy that is running up against cost pressures and capacity constraints, with risks that inflation could become more persistent," he said, adding that hikes will still be needed.

Meanwhile, Maxime Darmet, Asia-Pacific director of economics at Fitch Ratings told CNBC that most major central banks in the region are not likely to raise rates soon.

"Major central banks in the APAC region are in no rush to start hiking policy rates ... with the exception of New Zealand and Korea. Generally contained inflationary pressures and Covid-related economic setbacks leave APAC central banks willing to keep policy loose," Darmet said in an email to CNBC on Tuesday, before New Zealand's lockdown was announced.

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New Zealand was set to be the first advanced economy to hike rates. One Covid case put a stop to it - CNBC

A tiny regional airport in New Zealand that weaves a Mori story of love and longing into its architecture is in the running for a prestigious design award, up against international heavyweights including New Yorks LaGuardia.

Unescos Prix Versailles recognises architecture that fosters a better interaction between economy and culture, and includes a range of categories from airports to shopping malls. The finalists for the airport category include the New York LaGuardia upgrade, Berlins Brandenburg airport and international airports in Athens, Kazakhstan and the Philippines.

The sixth airport finalist is Te Hono meaning to connect and is found in New Plymouth, a town with a population of 85,000, on the western shoulder of the North Island.

After six design options were floated, Rangi Kipa a member of the local Puketapu hap (subtribe) and lead figure on cultural design, settled upon a story. The Ascension from the Earth, Descending from the Sky, tells the story of Tamarau, a celestial being, who was so captivated by the earthly beauty of Rongo-ue-roa, a terrestrial being, that he came down to meet her.

This story aligns closely with the creation narrative of Te tiawa iwi [tribe], said Rangi.

The terminals silver and blue roof cascades in large stepped planes, like the feathers of a large wing, or, Tamarau coming to meet Rongo-ue-roa. Their symbolic and literal joining is represented along the public concourse by a brightly coloured tukutuku panel traditionally, a woven wall panel that depicts an iwis stories.

The spine of the building is oriented to represent the journey from the mountain to the river the main ancestral walking track in this area, and while visitors may notice these aspects of the architecture first, there are many subtle stories told through the details.

Manaakitanga the Mori concept of hospitality also influences the design.

Campbell Craig, the projects architect and associate for design at firm Beca, said the project attempted to challenge western architectural practices that do not bear any relationship to Mori design.

It was important for Puketapu to welcome and take care of guests in a place that is in many ways the gateway to the region, said Craig. The faceted curved forms of the building at the entrance and airside embrace travellers, to shelter them from the elements.

In 1960, the land the airport sits on was confiscated from Mori, under the Public Works Act to build an aerodrome. This was a major source of grievance for the hap, who had urup [burial grounds] on the site.

Honouring the iwis story is meant to be the first step in righting this wrong.

Kipa said: For the most part, we have been invisible in our own landscape for 160 years, so its amazing to have the chance to influence, and give life to, some of the things that make us who we are.

For Craig, the most heartening aspect of the project was the intensive collaboration between Mori, the airport and the architects, which enabled a sense of collective ownership over it.

The experience at Te Hono provided a blueprint for working with tngata whenua [people of the land], he said, adding that it would be an approach embedded into all of their future projects.

The airports chief executive, David Scott, said the co-design process had resulted in a building that was both functional and of cultural significance. It demonstrates what can be achieved when we work together as true partners, he said.

The winners of the Prix Versailles Airports 2021 will be announced at Unesco headquarters in late November.

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Tiny New Zealand airport that tells Mori love story in running for global design award - The Guardian

What is unfolding now in Afghanistan is a moment that Afghans cant turn away from. It will mean separated families, death, torture and sexual slavery women, the rainbow community, journalists and human rights defenders will be most zealously targeted. At this critical moment, they have hope of rescue. But in Aotearoa New Zealand, our government is at risk of letting this hope slip away. History judges uninterested bystanders harshly. It isnt like us to be one of those.

This week our government announced we would send a New Zealand defence force (NZDF) vessel to bring a limited category of people back from Kabul. On Thursday one of our air force Hercules planes left for Afghanistan, and I acknowledge the risks our defence force personnel are taking in this time of Covid-19 to save the lives of people who have helped us.

But we will take only Kiwis and a group of interpreters who assisted the NZDF in its operations there, together with their families. We will not bring back the families of Kiwi Afghans, nor will we help any other targeted group. It is worth noting that the threat the interpreters faced from persistent Taliban presence has been known to the government for some time. There was never cause to leave them in Afghanistan until an outbreak of civil war or fully-fledged Taliban occupation.

Over the past week, the messages and calls from Afghan New Zealanders and Afghans on the ground have flooded in. In my office we scroll through pages of identity documents, photos and location details, sent by family members here grasping for any lifeline for their loved ones. I have my dad translating Farsi notes sent from people who let us know of death threats, and of how they change their locations daily because the Taliban comes looking for them with printed copies of those same photo IDs.

They detail the grounds for their persecution: work for foreign organisations, for the deposed government, women with education and a voice they happen to have used publicly. As former refugees, we know how important these lifelines are, we know the anxiety that went into sending information out into the world hoping to be believed, hoping for humanity. Ex-UN aid workers, diplomats and human rights campaigners have all been in touch advocating for targeted Afghans theyve worked with. They know New Zealand is at least sending a plane, landing and able to bring people back so they beg us to do more. It would be unforgivable if our plane leaves Kabul with even a single empty seat.

While it is a relief to have our own people and the interpreters who helped us finally rescued, like-minded nations such as the UK and Canada have committed to taking thousands of at-risk Afghans, while we have not. New Zealand is already unlikely to fill its refugee resettlement quota this year because of Covid-19. In that context, rescuing lives from the clutches of the Taliban and out of Kabul is within our existing intake levels.

These harrowing events are befalling a people and culture far from the violent oppression of the Taliban. Afghan women were often educated professionals before that force first took over, and came back to that life after the Talibans first fall. As a lawyer, I was proud to see our own Justice Grazebrook, the president of the International Association of Women Judges, call on the New Zealand government to secure safe passage for Afghan women judges and their families, knowing they would be at grave risk.

The New Zealand Afghan community held rallies before the current Covid-19 lockdown.

When I arrived, the organisers middle-aged men whom I would have called uncle told me they were prioritising the voices of young women, who would speak first. The fierce and eloquent speeches that followed were heartbreaking and hope-giving. This is a community of survivors.

It is also a community of Kiwis with family trapped under one of the most violent and oppressive forces of the modern world. How can we not do all we can to reunite these families, to keep human rights defenders or journalists safe? Right now, there is a brief window when we can land at that airport and save lives. This is a moment when our human community either rises to the challenge or looks away. We must not let this moment pass.

There must be no empty seats on New Zealands plane.

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Afghans need our help there must be no empty seats on New Zealands rescue mission - The Guardian

Issued on: 22/08/2021 - 11:22

Sydney (AFP)

Australia has threatened to pass on a multi-million dollar bill to New Zealand if they fail to show up for a Bledisloe Cup Test in Perth, a report said Sunday, as Queensland was firmed up as host for the pandemic-hit Rugby Championship.

The All Blacks failed to travel to the West Australian city as scheduled this weekend for the August 28 clash against the Wallabies, citing uncertainty around coronavirus restrictions.

The decision sparked fury from Rugby Australia, whose chief Andy Marinos claimed he only heard about it through the media as talks with the state government around securing an exemption to mandatory quarantine were progressing.

He said Sunday he now hopes to lock in September 4 for the Test and New Zealand Rugby (NZR) had been asked to provide written assurance they will not bail out again.

"I want it in writing. We have an email, but we need a letter for both the government and the stadium as well," he told the Sydney Morning Herald. "That should be forthcoming pretty soon."

The newspaper said that if the All Blacks fail to turn up, the West Australian government intended to recoup the Aus$5 million (US$3.56 million) they paid to Rugby Australia to play the game in Perth.

Marinos indicated his organisation would duly pursue financial compensation.

"I've made New Zealand very aware that we have a contract and they've made a commitment," he said.

The All Blacks have five Tests remaining in the Rugby Championship, one against Australia and two each against South Africa and Argentina.

NZR have said their two Tests against South Africa next month would no longer be played at home after government advice that the Springboks would not be able to enter due to a Covid-19 lockdown.

The Argentina Tests had already been moved to Australia.

South Africa has offered to host the remainder of the games if teams cannot travel to Australia, where states including New South Wales and Victoria are in lockdown to tackle outbreaks of the Delta variant.

Europe has also been touted as a potential host, but Marinos said Queensland was the priority.

"Queensland is absolutely a priority for us. Until such time that we cannot make it work, that's the priority," he said.

The newspaper said Queensland had fast-tracked a proposal to approve South Africa and Argentina's entry into the country and into "managed isolation", with the plan advancing to the point of venues being secured.

"We are working very hard to get all the approval and assurances done. The Queensland government have been fantastic in working alongside us," said Marinos.

"There was never any doubt about whether we could play there. It was just doubt that we could get South Africa and Argentina through managed isolation."

2021 AFP

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Australia threatens to bill New Zealand in rugby row - FRANCE 24

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) Cheryl Simpson was supposed to be celebrating her 60th birthday over lunch with friends but instead found herself confined to her Auckland home.

The discovery of a single local COVID-19 case in New Zealand was enough for the government to put the entire country into strict lockdown this past week. While others might see that as draconian, New Zealanders generally support such measures because they worked so well in the past.

Im happy to go into lockdown, even though I dont like it, said Simpson, owner of a day care center for dogs that is now closed because of the precautions. She said she wants the country to crush the latest outbreak: Id like to knock the bloody thing on the head.

Elsewhere around the Pacific, though, Japan is resisting such measures in the face of a record-breaking surge, instead emphasizing its accelerating vaccine program. And Australia has fallen somewhere in the middle.

All three countries got through the first year of the pandemic in relatively good shape but are now taking diverging paths in dealing with outbreaks of the delta variant, the highly contagious form that has contributed to a growing sense that the coronavirus cannot be stamped out, just managed.

Professor Michael Baker, an epidemiologist at New Zealands University of Otago, said countries around the world are struggling to adapt to the latest threat: With the delta variant, the old rules just dont work.

The differing emphasis on lockdowns versus vaccines and how effective such strategies prove to be in beating back the delta variant could have far-reaching consequences for the three countries economies and the health of their citizens.

Japan has never imposed lockdowns against the coronavirus. The public is wary of government overreach after the countrys fascist period before and during World War II, and Japans postwar constitution lays out strict protections for civil liberties.

Before the delta variant, the country managed to keep a lid on coronavirus outbreaks in part because many people in Japan were already used to wearing surgical masks for protection from spring allergies or when they caught colds.

Now, almost everyone on public transportation wears a mask during commuting hours. But late at night, people tend to uncover in restaurants and bars, which has allowed the variant to spread. Hosting the Tokyo Olympic Games didnt help either.

While strict protocols kept infections inside the games to a minimum, experts such as Dr. Shigeru Omi, a key medical adviser to the government, say the Olympics created a festive air that led people in Japan to lower their guard.

New cases in Japan have this month leaped to 25,000 each day, more than triple the highest previous peak. Omi considers that a disaster.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday expanded and extended a state of emergency covering Tokyo and other areas until at least mid-September, though most of the restrictions arent legally enforceable.

Many governors are urging the prime minister to consider much tougher restrictions. But Suga said lockdowns have been flouted around the world, and vaccines are the way to go.

Daily vaccinations in Japan increased tenfold from May to June as thousands of worksites and colleges began offering shots, but a slow start has left the nation playing catch-up. Only about 40% of people are fully vaccinated.

In Australia, a delta outbreak hit Sydney in June, after an unvaccinated limousine driver became infected while transporting a U.S. cargo air crew from the Sydney Airport. State authorities hesitated for 10 days before imposing lockdown measures across Sydney that have now dragged on for two months.

Early in the pandemic, Australias federal government imposed just one nationwide lockdown. Now, amid the delta outbreak, it is pursuing a strategy it calls aggressive suppression including strict controls on Australians leaving the country and foreigners entering but is essentially letting state leaders call the shots.

New infections in Sydney have climbed from just a few each week before the latest outbreak to more than 800 a day.

Its not possible to eliminate it completely. We have to learn to live with it, Gladys Berejiklian, premier of Sydneys New South Wales state, said in what many interpreted as a significant retreat from the determination state leaders have previously shown to crush outbreaks entirely.

That is why we have a dual strategy in New South Wales, Berejiklian said. Get those case numbers down, vaccination rates up. We have to achieve both in order for us to live freely into the future.

The outbreak in Sydney has spilled over into the capital, Canberra, which has also gone into lockdown. Government worker Matina Carbone wore a mask while shopping on Friday.

I dont know that anyones ever going to really beat delta, she said. I think we just have to try and increase our rates of vaccinations and slowly open things up when we think its safe to do so.

But Australia lags far behind even Japan in getting people inoculated, with just 23% of people fully vaccinated.

Last year, soon after the pandemic first hit, neighboring New Zealand imposed a strict, nationwide lockdown and closed its border to non-residents. That wiped out the virus completely. The country of 5 million has been able to vanquish each outbreak since, recording just 26 virus deaths.

It went six months without a single locally spread case, allowing people to go about their daily lives much as they had before the pandemic.

But this month, the Sydney outbreak spread to New Zealand, carried by a returning traveler.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern promptly imposed the strictest form of lockdown.

By Sunday, the number of locally spread cases in New Zealand had grown to 72, and the virus had reached the capital, Wellington. Officials raced to track 10,000 more people who might have been exposed.

Ardern has been steadfast.

We have been here before. We know the elimination strategy works. Cases rise, and then they fall, until we have none, she said. Its tried and true. We just need to stick it out.

Baker, the epidemiologist, said he believes it is still possible for New Zealand to wipe out the virus again by pursuing the burning ember approach of taking drastic measures to stamp out the first sign of an outbreak.

That remains to be seen.

New Zealand doesnt have much of a Plan B. A recent report by expert advisers to the government noted the nation has comparatively few intensive care hospital beds and said an outbreak could quickly overwhelm the health system.

And New Zealand has been the slowest developed nation to put shots in arms, with just 20% of people fully vaccinated.

___

Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo and McGuirk from Canberra, Australia.

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Lockdowns or vaccines? 3 Pacific nations try diverging paths - Associated Press

OPINION: Last Christmas I sent a picture to my family in the UK of my children and me in a pool enjoying a summer of freedom that was the envy of the world.

Two days later, my brother, his wife and son in England all had COVID-19.

My parents, who are in their 70s, began what turned out to be a six-month lockdown as England battled with its latest outbreak.

I regretted being so glib about how we were spending the festive season.

Friends of mine in England started to message me about moving over here, such was the positive publicity around the success of New Zealand's elimination of the virus.

Those friends endured a miserable winter in the northern hemisphere, locked down for many months.

Today the tables are somewhat turned, as we are in our second level 4 lockdown, the UK is emerging from its COVID winter of discontent largely vaccinated and seemingly in a new phase of dealing with the virus.

My parents are so confident they have booked a cruise, albeit around the British Isles but it is something a few months ago they were wondering if they would ever do again.

As long as they give a negative COVID test and are both fully vaccinated they can board the ship.

And that is the key, they have both been fully vaccinated for a few months now. All of my family, including my teenage nieces and nephews have received both doses of the vaccination.

Earlier this year, I was told I would be getting my first dose of the vaccine in April. My age and an underlying health condition meant I would be among the first in the queue.

May came and went and no dose.

The information then changed and I was then told I could book in July, not be jabbed but book. So when I got another email saying I was eligible I tried to book online, except the website crashed so I called instead.

I was given a date of September 12. Five months after I was originally told I could get the jab.

I know there were issues securing doses of the vaccine, but when the Prime Minister begins a press conference by saying "I have good news," and then telling us the record number of people who were vaccinated on Friday is something to cheer, it's not good news, it's just catching up.

Putting the country back into lockdown was the right move from Ardern, there was little option once the Delta variant was discovered in the community.

Her management of the crisis has been generally excellent, but stop spinning the vaccination programme.

It has so far not been a success. We are not at the bottom of the list of countries that have vaccinated their populations, but we are a long way from the top.

It doesn't matter how many people have booked for their vaccine, a booking won't protect you. What is important is how many people have been vaccinated twice.

I am at risk from COVID-19, males in my age group have some of the worst survival rates. I would really like the vaccine but won't be fully vaccinated until October.

Meanwhile the Delta variant is in the community and many of us who are at risk shouldn't be.

I would hardly call that good news.

Mark Longley is the managing editor of Newshub Digital

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Opinion: Stop putting a spin on New Zealand's vaccination numbers, we are woefully behind - Newshub

Max Guilford is in Indiana for the NOS Energy Drink Indiana Midget Week series from now until next Saturday. Image / Facebook

A rape charge against a New Zealand race car driver in the United States has been dismissed.

Max Guilford, 19, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Blackford County in Indiana, but the charge was dismissed Thursday, (yesterday New Zealand time), Muncie Star Press reported.

The charge he faced was a level 3 felony that carries up to 16 years in prison.

"The state declines to prosecute," Chief Deputy Prosecutor Joelle Frieburger wrote in the motion.

The charge was dropped after Guildford was able to produce a Snapchat conversation between the accuser and a friend which acknowledged the sexual conduct had been consensual, his attorney Zaki Ali of Anderson said.

Ali said the case should never have been filed.

The woman had told police she was on a third date with Guilford when he carried her into a bedroom and forced her to have sex.

"She advised at no time did she ever want to have sex with Max," a Hartford City officer wrote.

She said after the assault they went to a Starbucks Cafe where they disagreed over whether he would pay for her beverage.

The woman said Guilford then drove her home, where she showered and "went for a run".

She reported the alleged assault a few days later.

It is understood Guilford is in Indiana for the NOS Energy Drink Indiana Midget Week series, and was staying in Blackford County this spring and summer.

Link:

Rape charge against New Zealand motorsport driver Max Guilford in the US dismissed - New Zealand Herald