September 22, 2021
Section 70 shows way for targeted COVID response
The head of Waikato Tainui’s Te Arataura executive says the section 70 public health order used to limit movement of people in the upper Hauraki area may be the way to contain future outbreaks of COVID-19 without having to move all of Auckland to level 4 again.
The city dropped to level 3 at midnight, and the Government will decide in two weeks whether to ease restrictions further.
Linda Te Aho says iwi were given advance notice positive cases had been found in the area around Mangatangi Marae and Kaiaua and asked where the boundaries of any other section 70 orders should be.
“Because we’ve had issues with the lack of ground-truthing of borders in the past – they’re just lines drawn on a map and we had no say, so I appreciate the fact we did have some early notice, we could sit down with Civil Defence and other people and look at a map with people from the communities, saying ‘if you do that, you are going to block us off, why don’t you follow the river or stream that’s a more natural border, etc,'” she says.
Ms Te Aho says the notice also gave iwi time to stand up testing stations and other support for the community.
Small events like weddings and tangihanga are allowed in Tāmaki Makaurau now the city has moved to alert level 3, with up to 10 people only.
Activities such as surfing, tramping, horse-riding and mountain biking are also allowed if you are experienced and local.
Cafes, restaurants and takeaways can open in level 3 for contactless pick-ups and delivery, with electronic payment only.