September 01, 2020
Wardens find fear and fatality in lockdown checks
Rather than manning roadblocks during the lockdown, South Auckland Māori wardens were out checking on the welfare of kaumātua and kuia.
Spokesperson Thomas Henry says they were able to hand out masks and also small items like milk and biscuits so kaumātua can make themselves a cup of tea.
They also uncovered medical cases – and in one case discovered a kaumātua who had been dead in his unit for two days.
He says lockdowns and COVID restrictions are intimidating for many elderly people.
"The whānau that are living in those units are now getting a bit more support but are too frightened to go outside or are frightened if they do go outside of being told off by the police because they are not wearing a mask," Mr Henry says.
Thomas Henry says while some kaumātua lack whānau support or whose whānau have moved away, there are also some who are stubborn about receiving help.
There were 14 new cases of COVID-19 reported today – nine are returning travellers in managed isolation and quarantine and five are in the community.
The five new community cases are all clearly linked to the Auckland cluster.
Two are household contacts of previously reported cases, and the other three are all in a household that is linked to an existing case.
The New Zealand COVID Tracer app reached a significant milestone today, recording over two million registered users.
That’s equivalent to half the population aged 15 and over.
Over the past week the app has been used on average more than 1.7 million times a day.
The Ministry is continuing to receive several thousand QR code requests each day as transport operators work to get their codes in place by September 3.
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