Dawn Chorus: Crucial delta moment

TLDR: Today and tomorrow will be the two biggest days of this delta outbreak, both here and in Australia. Case numbers must start falling today and tomorrow if we are to know the level four lockdowns stopped the chain of transmission last Wednesday morning.

If the social distancing enforced by the level four lockdown is working, we should now start to see case numbers start dropping. Photo: The Kaka

Meanwhile, the pressure is ramping up on both MIQ and the Ministry of Health. Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins revealed in a select committee hearing yesterday the Government was looking to repurpose existing MIQ places to quarantine local cases. (Newshub)

"In the event that that filled up and we needed to repurpose another one of our MIQ facilities for quarantine, then of course we could look at that. We have to balance that up against the pressure of travellers coming in and our need to accommodate that safely." Chris Hipkins.

The Ministry of Health will also face more questions this morning about people possibly being vaccinated with saline, instead of vaccine. Yesterday RNZ’s Charlie Dreaver revealed five people out of 732 may have been injected with harmless saline solution instead of a Covid-19 shot at Auckland’s Highbrook Vaccination Centre on 12 July. That’s nearly six weeks ago. Now this morning Dreaver is reporting the Ministry of Health confirmed there had been another instance where people may have been given the wrong dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

The DHBs are also struggling with poor systems. Nick Jones reports via NZ Herald-$$$ this morning that Auckland and Waikato DHBs still don’t have an easy way to work out who has been vaccinated or not.

‘When a community case was detected, DHBs at the centre of the outbreak couldn't easily work out which staff were vaccinated. That's despite staff being eligible for the Pfizer vaccine since March.’ NZ Herald

Derek Cheng also details in the NZ Herald-$$$ how far behind the contact tracers are. He questions whether the Ministry was ready for the speed and huge contact volumes because of delta.

‘Only yesterday did the ministry first say how many contacts were yet to be reached. Of 22,081 individual contacts, 7800 were yet to be contacted. Of the 488 high-risk close contacts, at least 61 were still to be reached.’ NZ Herald

Elsewhere, The National Caucus is deeply divided after its awful annual conference, Thomas Coughlan reports at NZ Herald-$$$ this morning.

‘One source told the Herald that Collins "completely lost it" at Bishop. Another source described her tirade as "f***ing ballistic".’ Thomas Coughlan

Overseas, Australia faces its worst day of the epidemic. Last night two hospitals in Sydney’s western suburbs at Westmead and Blacktown ran out of space for more Covid patients. Case numbers there are expected to rise over 1,000 today.

Meanwhile, bizarrely, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian is expected to push ahead today with plans to open up…

‘The Premier said she still planned to announce a level of freedom to vaccinated people by the end of the week, with a meeting of crisis cabinet to determine the plans on Wednesday afternoon.’ SMH

In the global economy, US factory orders figures overnight were weaker than expected (Reuters), Nomura’s analysts warned a property slowdown in China looks more permanent and worrying than it usually does, describing it as a ‘Volcker moment’ (Bloomberg)

---

Signs o’ the times news

Bernard Hickey @bernardchickey

Must watch report from @barbaradreaver

tvnz.co.nzBarbara Dreaver ‘appalled’ with MOH’s vaccine rollout for Pasifika communityThe 1 NEWS Pacific correspondent said there’s a disconnect between Pacific leaders and the ministry.

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

"It's great the Government has already activated wage subsidies but our most disadvantaged families must not be overlooked; people receiving benefits also need assistance with the high costs of lockdown." CPAG’s Janet McAllister

newshub.co.nzCOVID-19: Social Development Minister pours cold water on pleas for more income support amid ‘ongoing hardship due to lockdown’“At this stage, no.”

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

‘An investor slide pack on Wednesday included illustrations of how the app may evolve in the longer-term. One such illustration included a potential screenshot from the app saying: “$800,000: Your first apartment in Bondi is pre-approved.”

smh.com.auAfterpay eyes move into lucrative mortgage marketAfterpay has signalled it has long-term ambitions to distribute mortgages, as it also looks to expand the range of financial products offered to Australian consumers.

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

Our world’s most powerful leader."In college, there will be more emphasis on the establishment of theoretical thinking."

bbc.co.ukChina schools: ‘Xi Jinping Thought’ introduced into curriculumThe education ministry says the guidelines will help establish Marxist belief in the country’s youth.

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

⁦@fmanjoo⁩ ‘Unless California’s Democrats wake up, in three weeks’ time a Trumpian provocateur could well be chosen to run one of the nation’s bluest states.’ via @nytopinion-$$$

nytimes.comOpinion | Brace Yourself for the Man Who Could Become California’s GovernorAn election to recall Gavin Newsom is suddenly no longer a sideshow.

---

Chart of the day

Useful longer reads and listens

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

‘ESG has always been blighted by hype and wooliness, with too many of its adherents content to sign non-committal pledges and scatter pictures of sunflowers through reports about elusive concepts such as “purpose”. ‘via @FT-$$$

ft.comBecome an FT subscriber to read | Financial TimesNews, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

‘Chi­na’s prob­lems also re­flect longer-term de­mo­graphic shifts—in­clud­ing a shrink­ing la­bor pool—that are lega­cies of the coun­try’s decades­long one-child pol­icy, which was for­mally aban­doned in 2016.’ Via @WSJ-$$$

wsj.comChinese Factories Are Having Labor Pains—‘We Can Hardly Find Any Workers’Fear of Covid-19 and youths’ changing priorities leave factory owners in a pinch, as demographic challenges mount

bernardchickeysubscribers @bernardchickey2

Sound familiar?

reut.rsDroughts shrink hydropower, pose risk to global push to clean energySevere droughts are drying up rivers and reservoirs vital for the production of zero-emissions hydropower in several countries around the globe, in some cases leading governments to rely more heavily on fossil fuels.

---

Some fun things

Tony Lyall @tony_lyall

May I present to you, the Kiwi burger song but the things kiwis love are replaced by the locations of interest.

Tony Lyall @tony_lyall

The kiwi burger song but the things kiwis love are replaced by the locations of interest.

Decent Patter @decentpatter

How is this on ITV News and not something out of a sketch show 😂😂

Ka kite ano

Bernard