September 14, 2022
Too early to give up Covid masking says Jansen
The Covid traffic light system is gone, but a leading Maori doctor is encouraging whanau to hang on to their masks.
Rawiri Jansen, the chief medical officer for the Maori Health Authority Te Aka Whai Ora, says while mask wearing is no longer mandatory outside public health settings such as hospitals and rest homes, Maori communities have done a good job protecting their whanau by doing the right things,
He says it’s still important to wear masks on public transport and in crowded and confined places.
“Lots of Maori communities are really activated about it, support our whanau to be able to do it, make sure you have got masks, so those kind of protections I think we are still going to be very good with – and make sure whanau have access to RAT tests and if you are RAT positive, try to register it and stay home for the isolation period,” Dr Jansen says.