A glimmer of hope
| Author | Michael Neilson |
| Published date | 09 November 2021 |
| Publication title | New Zealand Herald, The (Auckland, New Zealand) |
It comes as Aucklanders tomorrow shift to step two of level 3, allowing retail and some public spaces including libraries to reopen, and outdoor gatherings to increase to 25 people.
In both decisions Ardern cited all three Auckland district health boards (DHBs) cracking 90 per cent first-vaccination doses for their eligible populations, and potentially hitting the double-dose target in the next three weeks — a counterbalance to still-rising case and hospitalisation numbers.
But experts warn the move will have inequitable outcomes and case numbers could further escalate if they don’t peak before the Government’s new COVID traffic light system kicks in.
The announcements came after 190 COVID-19 cases were reported in the community over the previous 24 hours — a daily total second only to the 206 reported on Saturday.
Of those, 182 were in Auckland, seven in Waikato and one in Northland. Despite the Northland case, Cabinet decided the Far North would move from level 3 to level 2 at 11.59pm on Thursday.
Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said he was confident cases there could be managed through testing and contact tracers.
Most new cases (110) were yet to be epidemiologically linked, taking the number still unlinked in the past 14 days to 700.
The seven-day rolling average for community cases was 148 — just above Government-commissioned modelling released last week, which predicted 143 cases at this stage, and has been guiding recent decisions.
Yesterday 81 people with the virus were in hospital, up from the previous day’s 74. This was slightly above the modelling, which predicted 78 people in hospital — but the seven in ICU were below the 15 predicted.
Ardern said it was hard to model exactly how the alert-level shift would affect things but projections showed cases would grow.
Hospitalisations were also considered and so far were well within what DHBs could cope with, she said.
Evidence showed the permitted outdoor gatherings did not lead to more cases, with only one case linked to an outdoor barbecue.
Significant case numbers hadn’t been noticed in workplaces, which was why retail could be opened, Ardern said.
The decision also acknowledged the impact on businesses and the mental and emotional toll on Aucklanders.
Until the move into the new traffic light framework, there was a...
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