November 17, 2021
Tūhoe readies for Covid onslaught
The chair of Tūhoe Hauora says people questioning Covid vaccines need to look to their urupā.
Finney Davis says now Covid 19 has arrived in the Bay of Plenty, hapū are asking whether the hauora is ready to manage people who may need treatment, or to support the whānau who will be forced to isolate.
He says the influenza pandemic 100 years ago is a lesson in what can happen when people don’t have the tools and knowledge to deal with a mate urutā.
“We’ve got an old urupā, Tapuwae, that has a lot of children in it, and the tubs they used to wash them are returned upside down on their grave sites and some of our grave sites are unmarked, they are unnamed. That’s a reality check for everyone,” Mr Davis says.
There were 194 new community cases of Covid-19 reported today, which matches the seven day rolling average.
There were 180 cases in Auckland, five in Waikato three in Northland and six in the Lakes District Health Board.
There are 88 people in hospital, down from 91 yesterday.