March 23, 2022
Restrictions ease but Covid threat not taken lightly
Most vaccine mandates and restrictions are set to end, but the Prime Minister is warning people not to underestimate the severity of Covid 19.
Jacinda Ardern today announced chances to the traffic light settings in light of the Omicron surge that has swept through the country.
From midnight Friday large outdoor gatherings including concerts and sports events can resume.
Use of vaccination passes and most vaccination mandates will end on April 4, although those working health, aged care, corrections and on the border will still need to be fully jabbed.
She says 95 per cent of the population is now vaccinated, and many of the unvaccinated will have some immunity because they’ve had Omicron.
But only 80 per cent of eligible Pakeke Māori are double vaccinated and just half are boosted, and the vaccination rate for tamāriki Maori also lags the general rate.
She stressed the importance of vaccinations.
“If you have only had two doses, we don’t consider you to be fully vaccinated. Please, go and get a booster,” the Prime Minister says.
The lifting of vaccination mandates has been welcomed by business groups and by education sector unions.
The PPTA says many of the teachers who refused to get vaccinated will be able to find new jobs in education – and they’ll certainly be useful in coming weeks as relief teachers as Omicron continues to affect schools.
But University of Auckland microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles says she’s nervous about removing vaccine mandates for people working with children who can’t yet be vaccinated.
She warns that counties that dropped restrictions as their Omicron wave was subsiding are now experiencing another wave.
That’s why it’s important to keep masking, so she was pleased to see masks added to the Orange setting.
Associate Professor Wiles says while Omicron may appear milder because of the protection of vaccines and improvements in treatments, but there is no guarantee the next variant will be the same, and she wants to see talk of the changes needed to make indoor environments safer for everyone against what is a deadly airborne virus.