Cabinet delays border reopening for NZers returning from Australia to self-isolate to end Feb; Gap to booster dose cut to 4 months from 6 months; Vaccination of 5-11 yr olds starts Jan 17
Lots. Hipkins mentioned that demand for MIQ dried up after the move to self-isolation from Jan 17 (now end Feb), which meant 500 slots in late Jan and Feb were Untaken in the last allocation of slots.
FYI to all. After queries from subscribers, I asked the Minister’s press secretary the following question: “Just checking on opening dates for residents from other countries than Australia, and non residents. Previously Feb 13 and April 30. Does this mean they're also both shuffled out six weeks. Or is it just residents from other countries can come in end of feb too? And therefore also no change to April 30 for non residents? Getting lots of questions such as this from subscribers.” Answer just came back. ‘Looking at doing steps 1 (Residents returning from Australia) and step 2 (residents returning from other countries) together. And no move to step 3.’ So that means residents from other countries who had been planning for Feb 13 must now plan for March 1 onwards. Non-residents hoping to come after April 30 can still come after April 30.
Attempting to delay the unavoidable Omicron wave into winter does not seem like a good idea. The impacts of seasonality on virus spread are pretty clear. There is no certainty to me that delaying Omicrons arrival will result in better outcomes. However, I would be surprised if they were able to contain it within MIQ for long.
I feel the Government is caught on a hamster wheel where there will always be something on the horizon that can justify a delay in reopening, whether its a new variant or a promising therapeutic. Unlike Australia, the country doesn't feel psychologically ready to move on from a semi-eliminationist frame and will continue to support a very conservative approach to managing virus variants.
I'm also concerned that after 2 years, the ability of 1/6th of our citizens to be able to visit their home country and see family/friends is still being framed as some sort of selfish luxury that can safely ignored. This is particularly apparent within the Nativist centre-left, with government surrogates like Neale Jones openly questioning the intentions of overseas kiwis wanting to return for even the most pure of reasons (deaths, births etc).
Thanks Michael H. I think giving extra time for booster shots will help reduce hospitalisations and deaths. But I challenge the delay in reducing the gap until early Jan. Should be immediate. Also, I think the Govt needs to give some hope that there will be an end to this once everyone has the booster jab, given that significantly limits the hospitalisations and deaths of vaccinated. I asked Hipkins whether we could open up properly once we get to 90% triple vaccinated and he was non-committal.
As he should be - let's see how many people would die first. If Omicron spreads so effectively, even in triple-vaccinated, that means the more vulnerable people (older, poorer, in ill health, and a large skew to Māori..) will be exposed rapidly, and many people will die and many many more, including kids, will live with permanent chronic symptoms.
Disagree. There is a time lag in scaling-up production/distribution of anti-covid vaccines and treatments (e.g. Paxlovid). With carefully managed reopening and proactive rollout, NZ would see a direct impact in terms of reduced burden of death and disease.
I understand people are desperate for some certainty, but unfortunately the situation calls for rationalism and realism.
Inclined to agree with the first two points from Bish.
Why does everyone think the Omicron wave wont hit till winter? Once it's outside MIQ it will only be weeks till we are awash in it , even in Wellington summer lasts a few months...
Has summer started in Wellington yet? It will get out fast. A mad dash to give everyone boosters is in order. In theory, the 4 month gap now means we could have 82% triple-dosed by end of Feb if everyone who could get it did get it.
I have updated now with MBIE postponing next MIQ slot releases until Jan 6. It had been scheduled to release 1,500 across Jan, Feb and March at midday today. That was postponed for 24 hours last night. It’s now cancelled completely, with next unspecified allocation on Jan 6.
Hi Bernard, I feel this announcement will likely trigger a few negative responses and in-turn behaviours for NZ. Some questions & thoughts.
What clarity can the government give on 4th (and beyond) boosters? Will this be annual or more frequent? I am double vaccinated and have been happy to do my part, but on the premise we do our bit and get to enjoy freedom of movement as one of those upsides to being vaccinated.
At what point does the goodwill run out? I imagine boosters without clarity on regularity, and limited reward for doing our part, will run out shortly. I wont be boosted for this reason.
I note also that the govt has now approved vaccines for children 5 and over. If the best defence from Covid is high vaccination rates, and the vaccination is safe, why are there no mandates for children (or mandates via proxy ie. attending school - and on that point, why must teachers be vaccinated but children not)?
Hi Sam, I have similar feelings finding out that the vaccine certificate now includes boosters. My main issue is the time line. They tell us the optimal time between vaccines and then shorten it.
I understand why, and it’s certainly important for the vulnerable but am concerned the mandates will not give us the choice.
On the school issue, I think that you will find that education is a right In Aotearoa New Zealand and the unvaccinated can access it like they can the supermarket or health centres .
My concern is for those New Zealanders in dire straits overseas - no job, no home, no or dwindling funds. Their mental health and well-being matters too. I feel we have cut them adrift as if there no room for them in our lifeboat.
The inside of the New Zealand passport with the coat of arms reads:
“The Governor-General in the Realm of New Zealand requests in the Name of Her Majesty The Queen all whom it may concern to allow the holder to pass without delay or hindrance and in case of need to give all lawful assistance and protection.”
I know there’s a pandemic but no one should be left behind. We’re a team of 6 million, not 5 million. We need to do more to bring these Kiwis home.
While I support what the Government is doing to minimize the risk of Omcrion getting into the Aotearoa/ New Zealand. I then read an article in the Dominion that foreigners who have a certain amount of money to invest in our country get priority to enter. What the Government is doing is selling citizenship to those foreigners who can afford it. What next?
Strange that Seymour talks about logic, but can't see the illogic in his own POV. The point of MIQ for international arrivals (versus community cases doing home iso) is to provide a buffer against new, unknown variants - as Omicron has literally just proven.
How many NZrs do you think will have taken a punt on getting back in sans-MIQ, and gone to Aus (for example) for Christmas? A few? Many? Heaps?
Lots. Hipkins mentioned that demand for MIQ dried up after the move to self-isolation from Jan 17 (now end Feb), which meant 500 slots in late Jan and Feb were Untaken in the last allocation of slots.
FYI to all. After queries from subscribers, I asked the Minister’s press secretary the following question: “Just checking on opening dates for residents from other countries than Australia, and non residents. Previously Feb 13 and April 30. Does this mean they're also both shuffled out six weeks. Or is it just residents from other countries can come in end of feb too? And therefore also no change to April 30 for non residents? Getting lots of questions such as this from subscribers.” Answer just came back. ‘Looking at doing steps 1 (Residents returning from Australia) and step 2 (residents returning from other countries) together. And no move to step 3.’ So that means residents from other countries who had been planning for Feb 13 must now plan for March 1 onwards. Non-residents hoping to come after April 30 can still come after April 30.
Thank you for clarifying this Bernard, government really should have covered this in their announcement.
Happy to help. I should have asked the question in the news conference. We all missed it.
But let's be realistic - there is a very good chance that these will all move, and we should be advising people to book MIQ if they can.
Yep. Agree with that Lance. I suspect a few people will be thinking about yachts...
Updated now with reactions from Michael Plank, Nick Wilson, Chris Bishop and David Seymour.
Attempting to delay the unavoidable Omicron wave into winter does not seem like a good idea. The impacts of seasonality on virus spread are pretty clear. There is no certainty to me that delaying Omicrons arrival will result in better outcomes. However, I would be surprised if they were able to contain it within MIQ for long.
I feel the Government is caught on a hamster wheel where there will always be something on the horizon that can justify a delay in reopening, whether its a new variant or a promising therapeutic. Unlike Australia, the country doesn't feel psychologically ready to move on from a semi-eliminationist frame and will continue to support a very conservative approach to managing virus variants.
I'm also concerned that after 2 years, the ability of 1/6th of our citizens to be able to visit their home country and see family/friends is still being framed as some sort of selfish luxury that can safely ignored. This is particularly apparent within the Nativist centre-left, with government surrogates like Neale Jones openly questioning the intentions of overseas kiwis wanting to return for even the most pure of reasons (deaths, births etc).
Thanks Michael H. I think giving extra time for booster shots will help reduce hospitalisations and deaths. But I challenge the delay in reducing the gap until early Jan. Should be immediate. Also, I think the Govt needs to give some hope that there will be an end to this once everyone has the booster jab, given that significantly limits the hospitalisations and deaths of vaccinated. I asked Hipkins whether we could open up properly once we get to 90% triple vaccinated and he was non-committal.
As he should be - let's see how many people would die first. If Omicron spreads so effectively, even in triple-vaccinated, that means the more vulnerable people (older, poorer, in ill health, and a large skew to Māori..) will be exposed rapidly, and many people will die and many many more, including kids, will live with permanent chronic symptoms.
Disagree. There is a time lag in scaling-up production/distribution of anti-covid vaccines and treatments (e.g. Paxlovid). With carefully managed reopening and proactive rollout, NZ would see a direct impact in terms of reduced burden of death and disease.
I understand people are desperate for some certainty, but unfortunately the situation calls for rationalism and realism.
Inclined to agree with the first two points from Bish.
Why does everyone think the Omicron wave wont hit till winter? Once it's outside MIQ it will only be weeks till we are awash in it , even in Wellington summer lasts a few months...
Has summer started in Wellington yet? It will get out fast. A mad dash to give everyone boosters is in order. In theory, the 4 month gap now means we could have 82% triple-dosed by end of Feb if everyone who could get it did get it.
We predict the start of Wellington summer by divining the knife scoring on the Christmas ham bone
Ha! As good as anything. I think we're still in the Shitsville part of the calendar for Wellington.
I have updated now with MBIE postponing next MIQ slot releases until Jan 6. It had been scheduled to release 1,500 across Jan, Feb and March at midday today. That was postponed for 24 hours last night. It’s now cancelled completely, with next unspecified allocation on Jan 6.
Hi Bernard, I feel this announcement will likely trigger a few negative responses and in-turn behaviours for NZ. Some questions & thoughts.
What clarity can the government give on 4th (and beyond) boosters? Will this be annual or more frequent? I am double vaccinated and have been happy to do my part, but on the premise we do our bit and get to enjoy freedom of movement as one of those upsides to being vaccinated.
At what point does the goodwill run out? I imagine boosters without clarity on regularity, and limited reward for doing our part, will run out shortly. I wont be boosted for this reason.
I note also that the govt has now approved vaccines for children 5 and over. If the best defence from Covid is high vaccination rates, and the vaccination is safe, why are there no mandates for children (or mandates via proxy ie. attending school - and on that point, why must teachers be vaccinated but children not)?
Interesting points Sam. I think the goodwill is wearing thin. On vaccines for kids, the PM is very, very reluctant personally to go down that track.
Hi Sam, I have similar feelings finding out that the vaccine certificate now includes boosters. My main issue is the time line. They tell us the optimal time between vaccines and then shorten it.
I understand why, and it’s certainly important for the vulnerable but am concerned the mandates will not give us the choice.
On the school issue, I think that you will find that education is a right In Aotearoa New Zealand and the unvaccinated can access it like they can the supermarket or health centres .
My concern is for those New Zealanders in dire straits overseas - no job, no home, no or dwindling funds. Their mental health and well-being matters too. I feel we have cut them adrift as if there no room for them in our lifeboat.
The inside of the New Zealand passport with the coat of arms reads:
“The Governor-General in the Realm of New Zealand requests in the Name of Her Majesty The Queen all whom it may concern to allow the holder to pass without delay or hindrance and in case of need to give all lawful assistance and protection.”
I know there’s a pandemic but no one should be left behind. We’re a team of 6 million, not 5 million. We need to do more to bring these Kiwis home.
Gary Dyall
While I support what the Government is doing to minimize the risk of Omcrion getting into the Aotearoa/ New Zealand. I then read an article in the Dominion that foreigners who have a certain amount of money to invest in our country get priority to enter. What the Government is doing is selling citizenship to those foreigners who can afford it. What next?
Strange that Seymour talks about logic, but can't see the illogic in his own POV. The point of MIQ for international arrivals (versus community cases doing home iso) is to provide a buffer against new, unknown variants - as Omicron has literally just proven.