December 02, 2021
Taitokerau threat level raised if borders ease
A Taitokerau Border Control organiser says he wants to see whānau back in the region for summer – but only if they are vaccinated.
Kōtui Hauora, a partnership board, bringing together northern iwi and the district health boards, has written to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister Andrew Little calling for unvaccinated or single-dose visitors to be kept out until both Māori and non-Māori in the region reach the 90 per cent vaccination target.
Rueben Taipari says he’s anxious about the prospect of large numbers of unvaccinated Aucklanders coming into the rohe.
“We do want our whānau to come home. We just need a process that everyone can reduce that anxiety, and we can have that whanaungatanga,’ he says.
Only 77 per cent of eligible Northlanders, including 64 per cent of Māori, are fully vaccinated, compared with between 87 per cent and 92 per cent at three super city DHBs.