The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned Aotearoa New Zealand to urgently close the “alarming” gaps in measles immunisation, particularly among Māori and Pacific communities.

A WHO review last year found measles vaccination rates were at their lowest since 2012, and said the country was at risk of another large outbreak if those gaps were not filled.

Aotearoa eliminated measles in 2017, but saw a major outbreak in 2019 that infected more than 2000 people and hospitalised 700, many of them young children.

There are now 10 confirmed cases across Manawatū, Nelson, Northland, Taranaki, Wellington and Auckland, raising fears of wider community spread.

Only 72 percent of Māori under five years old are vaccinated, compared with 82 percent across the general population. To stop outbreaks, at least 95 percent coverage is needed.

Public Health Director Dr Corina Grey said the Ministry of Health shared WHO’s concerns.

“We know Māori and Pacific children are still missing out — that’s something we have to fix,” she said.

Serious risk
Pacific health researcher Chris Puliuvea said there is serious risk, specifically for Pacific communities.

“There is a 95 percent level where we need to be [with immunisation]. I believe we may even be behind the general population. For example, in the Bay of Plenty, vaccination rates are well behind other ethnic groups in that region,” Dr Puliueva said.

Dr Puli’uvea warned that measles can be easily spread.

“There is a serious concern at the moment. One infected person could affect up to 18 other people. The virus lingers in the air for several hours, which encourages spread. It’s far more infectious than COVID-19, and that’s a concern for our Māori and Pacific communities,” Puli’uvea said.

“I think what makes it also difficult is that you can be infected with the virus at very early stages and not show symptoms until four days later, so you could be infectious and you could be spreading it.

“Obviously it will take time to report that incident. So I think there is a serious concern at the moment, and the reason why I have this concern is why the vaccination rates are not where [they’re] meant to be,” he added.

Dr Puli’uvea said the lower vaccination rates among Māori and Pacific communities was a complex issue, although there are several reasons.

Key covid lessons
“It’s a difficult question . . .  key lessons from covid-19 showed us the importance of engaging with communities, particularly the faith community, and addressing misinformation and disinformation.

“That’s one of the inequalities.

“Other inequities are just excess people not being able to find time to go and get vaccinated over because they’re at work, or just lots of other things, finding the time to go and get vaccinated is one of them.

“The other thing that I’ve found is some people are not sure if they are immunised, particularly for those born in the 1990s onward,” he said.

Dr Puli’uvea encouraged families to vaccinate even if they were unsure about their vaccination status.

“With MMR, I simply encourage people to go and get vaccinated. There’s no harm in getting the full course again. It protects not only the individual but also prevents spreading the virus,” Dr Puli’uvea said.

The Ministry of Health has expanded vaccination access through pharmacies, GPs, and health centres, and offered incentives for on-time childhood immunisations.

“Every child vaccinated helps protect the whole community,” Dr Grey said.

They also explained that people can check records and get free MMR vaccinations from their GP, pharmacy, or local clinic.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

It is being billed as quite possibly New Zealand’s biggest labour action in more than 40 years.

It is the latest in a growing series of strikes and walkoffs this year, but the sheer size of it today means much of New Zealand will come to a halt.

Several public sector unions say the strike is going ahead in spite of wild weather across the country — though plans for some rallies may change due to conditions.

• READ MORE: RNZ’s live news blog

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Thousands of senior hospital doctors and specialists walked off the job today for an unprecedented 24-hour strike in protest over stalled contract negotiations and thousands of other health workers protested across Aotearoa New Zealand against the coalition government’s cutbacks to the public health service Te Whatu Ora.

In spite of the disruptive bad weather across the country, protesters were out in force expressing their concerns over a national health service in crisis.

Among speakers criticising the government’s management of public health at a rally at the entrance to The Domain, near Auckland Hospital, many warned that the cutbacks were a prelude to “creeping privatisation”.

“Health cuts hurt services, the patients who rely on them, and the workers who deliver them,” said health worker Jason Brooke.

“Under this coalition government we’ve seen departments restructured, roles disestablished, change proposals enacted, and hiring freezes implemented.

“Make no mistake. This is austerity. This is managed decline.

“The coalition can talk all they like about spending more on healthcare, the reality for ‘those-of-us-on-the-ground’ is that we know that money is not being spent where it’s needed.”

Placards said “Fight back together for the workers”, “Proud to be union”, “We’re fighting back for workers rights”, and one poster declared: “Don’t bite the hand that wipes your bum — safe staffing now”.

Palestine supporters also carried a May Day message of solidarity from Palestinian Confederation of Trade Unions.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A study on worldwide trends in underweight and obesity, just published in The Lancet medical journal showed that the highest rates of obesity for women were in Tonga and American Samoa, and Nauru and American Samoa for men.

The report, spanning 1990 and 2022, found the rate of obesity quadrupled among children and adolescents.

Sir Collin Tukuitonga — who is associate professor, associate dean Pacific and a research director at Auckland University’s medical school — said the results for children were especially concerning.

“The local data here will show that two-thirds of young Pacific girls are obese, overweight. There’s increasing trends in childhood obesity.

Sir Collin said obesity was a longstanding fight for Pacific nations.

“The problem of course is that it’s so difficult to tackle, and it’s all to do with our food systems, how people are not as active as they used to be.”

Zero hunger goal
Zero Hunger is one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which deems both obesity and being underweight as forms of malnutrition.

“There is a need throughout the world for social and agricultural policies and food programmes that address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the rise in obesity by enhancing access to healthy and nutritious foods,” it said.

The Lancet report said there was an urgent need for major changes in how obesity is tackled.

Obesity can increase the risk of developing many serious health conditions, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Sixty four compartments of Papua New Guinea’s main mortuary have been out of service since the festive season while a new refrigerated container has also broken down, leaving the hospital looking for room while another 257 dead bodies lie unclaimed.

Port Moresby General Hospital Chief Executive Officer Dr Paki Molumi confirmed with the Post-Courier that the mortuary is full and that a mass burial is expected in the next three weeks.

The storage issue at the country’s biggest hospital is recurrent despite promises and assistance from the national government, the National Capital District Commission, the NCD Provincial Health Authority, partner agencies and others.

The hospital’s Director of Medical Services Dr Koni Sobi said due to the ageing infrastructure, repairing these compartments was an issue.

“The cooling system of a particular container broke down last week,” he said.

“A contractor was engaged last week but they are unable to get inside and do repair work until we empty that container of all human bodies and body parts.

“The 64 compartments’ chiller in the main mortuary building have also been out of service since the festive season. There is a contractor working to repair it. However, it is a very old unit, needs replacing or a major rehabilitation work, which is undergoing this process at the moment,” Dr Sobi said.

Seven bodies lying in open
When the Post-Courier visited the mortuary on Wednesday, at least seven bodies were left lying outside in the open waiting for relatives to come forward.

Meanwhile, the unpleasant smell from the morgue has affected residents nearby.

Dr Sobi explained that the POMGEN mortuary workers had began shifting the bodies from the container where the cooling system had broken down to five other containers, however the other containers were also full.

“We have bodies in the morgue since September 2023. Currently there are 257 bodies and body parts.

“The smell is evident often when the container is opened to remove body or bodies.

“Preparations for another mass burial have commenced and expected to take place within the next 3 weeks,” he said.

The hospital is now appealing to relatives to come forward and collect bodies of their loved ones for burial.

Claudia Tally is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Stuff, New Zealand’s biggest independently owned news business, today announced it will stop sharing content to X (formerly Twitter), effective immediately.

A media statement said that decision followed Stuff’s increasing concerns about the volume of mis- and disinformation being shared, and the “damaging behaviour being exhibited on and enabled by the platform”.

All Stuff brands including stuff.co.nz, and publishing mastheads brands The Post, The Press and Waikato Times will no longer post on X, with the exception of stories that are of urgent public interest — such as health and safety emergencies, said the statement.

Stuff will also publish these stories on Neighbourly, to reach communities fast and with hyper-local information.

The following message was sent to all staff from CEO Laura Maxwell:

Trusted storytelling
“When Stuff returned to New Zealand ownership in 2020, we set growth in public trust as a key measure of success. Three years on, our mission is to grow our business through trusted storytelling and experiences that make Aotearoa New Zealand a better place,” she said.

“As a business we have made the decision that X, formerly known as Twitter, does not contribute to our mission.

“We are increasingly concerned about the volume of mis- and dis-information being shared on the platform, and the damaging behaviours we have observed, and experienced.

“So, as of today, we will stop sharing our content on X. An exception to this will be stories that are of urgent public interest, such as health and safety emergencies. We will also publish these stories on Neighbourly.

“We also encourage you all to consider how much you personally engage with X, if at all. The platform is diametrically opposed to our own values, as outlined in our Editorial Code of Practice and Ethics. It deliberately and actively seeks to undermine the value of our journalism.

“We are aware many of you might use X for news gathering and as a way to share information with others. However, as a company that values truth and trust, this platform is no longer a tool for us.

“As many of you know, this is not the first time Stuff has taken such a stance.

“In July 2020, Stuff paused posting activity on Facebook. The move built on the decision to stop paid advertising on Facebook in 2019, following the live streaming and widespread dissemination of footage of the Christchurch mosque shootings on the platform. We will also continue to assess our use of other social platforms.

“As New Zealand’s biggest news organisation, we benefit from a loyal audience, who engage with us every single day on our platforms, our papers, magazines and at our events.

“As restless creators, our innovation mindset is enduring and so we’ll continue to innovate and invest in our platforms to deliver high-quality, trustworthy journalism that is relevant and reflective of Aotearoa.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

One in 50 Fijian children could have rheumatic heart disease and children between the ages of five to 15 years are the most at risk of rheumatic fever.

While revealing these alarming statistics, Health Secretary Dr James Fong revealed the high figures indicated the high screening conducted by the ministry, which was a positive sign in terms of early detection and early mitigation.

Speaking at the World Heart Day celebration in Suva yesterday, he said the ministry was focused on dedicating the best care to those diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease (RHD).

It had been proven that with the best medical care, patients of the disease lived a long life.

Dr Fong highlighted the ministry’s advocacy and early detection awareness in the community remained the focus of the ministry, as it saw an opportunity to reach many Fijians as possible.

Meanwhile, Maca Tikoicina, the grandmother of young Jaydee Tikocina who was diagnosed with RHD last year, shared the painful experience their family had endured in the past 12 months.

She stated Jaydee was diagnosed in September 2022 and had to drop out of school as he became too weak and unable to carry out normal duties.

She highlighted that following through with doctors’ consultations, taking the prescribed medicines on time and following the strict injection schedule of one injection after every 21 days resulted in significant improvement in her grandchild’s life.

“When the doctors screened him in March, they noted some improvements in his heart at the recent check earlier this month, we were told Jaydee can play sports again,” she said.

According to Tikocina, sports and other physical activities were some of the many activities and joys that Jaydee was barred from when he was initially diagnosed.

Tikocina urged parents and guidance to get their children checked early and if they are diagnosed, the key was following medical advice.

She also encouraged Fijians to take advantage of the free screening programmes and outreaches organised by the Ministry of Health.

Pauliasi Mateboto is a Fiji Times reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

As the Papua New Guinea government continues its globe trotting, the Nonga Base hospital in Rabaul, East New Britain province, is facing a crisis with no morgue cooling chamber for the last five years.

The dead are piled on top of each other and are put into chest freezers that cannot hold more than four bodies at any given time.

The hospital’s morgue is currently the only mortuary in the province that caters for more than 400,000 people.

Hospital manager Dr Osiat Baining confirmed the hospital’s dilemma, saying that the faulty cooling chamber forced the hospital into purchasing nine chest freezers to cater for the dead.

Dead bodies are put in body bags and piled on top of each other and stored in large chest freezers inside the morgue.

The PNG Post-Courier was informed that Health Secretary Dr Osborne Liko is in the process of getting appropriate information on the issue and a detailed response will be made later.

The newspaper understands that given the autonomy of the Provincial Health Authority (PHA), the chief executives of the hospital and the PHA are the appropriate people to speak to.

Faulty cooling chamber
Dr Baining confirmed with the Post-Courier yesterday that the hospital morgue’s cooling chamber had been faulty and was in need of new parts that could only be purchased overseas.

“It’s been faulty for more than five years already, so we have been using chest freezers,” he said.

“We have about eight to nine chest freezers. For capacity, one chest freezer can hold up to four dead bodies.

“We have been trying to get a new [cooling] chamber because we don’t have parts available in the country for the one we have. Its an old one too and needs to be replaced,” he said.

Dr Baining added that a cooling chamber of 12 cabinets could cost almost 1 million kina  (NZ$465,000) and plans are underway by the hospital to get new cooling chambers for its morgue.

“We are actually in the process of getting a new one but at the moment we need funding, as well a supplier for it.

Depends on state budget
“It really depends on the government, on what budget they give us.

“If they give us enough for what we ask for, otherwise we cannot really get most of the things we need.”

Meanwhile, the diener, or “morgue man” at Rabaul Provincial Hospital’s morgue, Kero Kalang, said the biggest challenge of his job was getting dead bodies every day at his doorstep.

He said he was constantly concerned about space and appealed to responsible authorities like the Provincial Health Authority if another mortuary, like Port Moresby and Lae’s Funeral Home, could be set up in the province.

Dianne Wilson is a PNG Post-Courier journalist. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

As of August 15, the mandates ended for the seven-day isolation period and masks in health settings, with the Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall saying wastewater testing showed little trace of the virus.

Dr Verrall acknowledged many would still feel vulnerable.

“So it is on all of us to think well if we’re visiting an aged residential care home for example, that we do follow the recommended procedures there.

“Te Whatu Ora will continue to encourage people to wear masks when they go to hospital — they won’t be mandated.”

Covid cases accounted for just over 2 percent of hospital admissions, Dr Verrall said.

Last step on wind down
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told RNZ Morning Report this was the last step in winding down covid-19 restrictions.

“We waited until after the winter peak period. The health system overall, while it’s been under pressure and it’s still under pressure, had a much better winter this winter than last winter.”

He said it was on the advice of the director-general of health and there was never a perfect time to make changes to health settings.

General Practice New Zealand chair Dr Bryan Betty said practices like mask wearing and self-isolation should be encouraged for all viruses, not just Covid.

He told Morning Report people needed to continue with the lessons that were learnt from covid but which were applicable to all viruses that were spread from person-to-person such as influenza and RSV.

“Voluntarily staying at home if you do have a flu or a cold so you don’t spread it, and I think masking in public areas of health facilities voluntarily is something we should still keep in play.”

Health providers should consider ensuring masks were worn in places where sick people gathered such as hospitals or GPs’ waiting areas, Dr Betty said.

Vaccination still important
Vaccination would still play an important part in reducing infection and re-infection, he said.

“We do that every year for influenza, we are potentially going forward going to be recommending that for covid, especially for vulnerable populations.”

Employers should be considering how to support workers so they do not come into work sick, he said.

Employers should give people with colds, the flu or Covid the opportunity to work from home if they can to avoid spreading the illness around the workplace, he said.

University of Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker also urged people to stay home when they were sick with covid-19, even though all of the health restrictions had been lifted.

Professor Baker told Morning Report that covid had transitioned from a pandemic threat to an endemic infectious disease.

“Unfortunately that means it’s there the whole time, it is still in New Zealand among the infectious diseases, the leading cause of death and hospitalisation and we know that those infections and reinfections are going to add to that burden of long covid.”

Still vital to isolate
People must remember that it was still vital to isolate when they were sick and not go to work or school or socialise which spread the virus, he said.

People should also continue to wear masks in medical facilities and in poorly ventilated indoor spaces, he said.

New Zealand had come through its fourth wave of infection for the Omicron variant, he said.

“We are going to see new subvariants or lineage of the virus arrive, they will be better at escaping from our immunity, our immunity will wane of course unless you get boosted.”

The government needed to look at how to reinforce those behaviours that prevented covid from spreading now that the mandates had been removed, he said.

“I mean this could be running media campaigns or developing codes of practice say with employers, Business New Zealand, I mean this is a chance for them really to show leadership about how they’re going to support the workforce in New Zealand, self-isolating when they are sick.”

Hospitilisations and mortality rates showed that covid-19 continued to have an impact and watching those rates would indicate whether the mandates had been removed too early, he said.

Integrated approach needed
New Zealand needed to develop a coherent, integrated approach to dealing with all respiratory infections which were the infectious diseases that had the biggest impact, he said.

“They have a big drain on our health resources and so we do need to look at better surveillance for these infections that will tell us what’s happening and also really it’s just having a culture of limiting transmission of these infections.”

That meant staying home when sick and using masks in indoor environments with poor ventilation, he said.

Auckland Council disability strategic advisory group chair Dr Huhana Hickey said getting rid of masks at health care centres was extremely dangerous for immunocompromised people.

“The problem for immune-compromised people is we’re frequent flyers, but we’re being asked to go into a situation that puts us all at risk of not just dealing with what’s making us sick but risking getting covid, which could kill us.”

Hickey said scrapping the seven-day compulsory isolation period could result in more workers returning while still infectious, which she believed would mean immunocompromised people were likely to stay home.

“If they cannot stay home and employers require them to work, they’re going to spread covid as well, so that means I don’t go to restaurants now because I don’t know if the waiter’s sick, I don’t know if the chef’s sick.”

Minimal impact of numbers
University of Auckland mathematics professor and covid-19 modeller Michael Plank expected the lack of mask and isolation requirements to have a minimal impact on case numbers.

He said the main drivers of infection were people who were asymptomatic cases or had not tested yet.

“I’m not sure than an isolation mandate is going to have a particularly large effect on infection rates in the long term.

“If we look at other countries that removed isolation mandates, like Australia, there’s really no evidence of a surge in numbers.”

Restaurant owners embraced the government’s decision.

The Restaurant Association surveyed more than 200 of its members, and 84 percent said they supported the idea.

But many planned to introduce their own requirements, chief executive Marisa Bidois said.

“Thirty nine percent of the respondents said they intended to mandate a five day isolation period for their employees,” she said.

“So that’s something they’re going to implement themselves as an internal policy.”

Many hospitality workers would also be expected to test themselves proactively.

“We also had 42 percent of respondents planning to require employees with any symptoms to undergo testing before returning to work.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) chair Muhammad Isnur has condemned the drafting of the Healthcare Bill (RUU Kesehatan) as “fake”, saying that the draft is almost the same as the Omnibus Law on Job Creation (Cipta Kerja).

According to Isnur, the similarity can be seen from a test of the academic context, which like the Jobs Law is unable to be seen.

“Should we say it’s a fake — yeah, the academic manuscript is fake,” he said.

Isnur said that the initial study or academic manuscript used in the drafting the draft Health Law was written carelessly and it had no legitimacy.

It could not be called an academic manuscript as the basis for drafting a law.

“For example, in the research methodology it quotes several specialists or experts whose books are outdated, their books have even been revised by the authors themselves,” said Isnur.

Isnur noted that the Health Bill would result in the reevaluation of policies in other laws, yet the references in the academic manuscript were unclear, including who did the research for it.

Lack of accountability
“We also do not know at all who drafted this. How can this be accountable as an academic manuscript if we don’t know who wrote it,” he said.

The YLBHI along with 42 other civil society groups are asking that the ratification of the Health Bill be postponed.

Aside from the fact that the academic manuscript was similar to Jobs Law, several concerns were raised by the Civil Society Coalition such as the deliberations on the law which were closed and without meaningful public participation.

Another reason was the weakness of the argument that the Health Bill was urgent and therefore needed to use the omnibus law method.

The law was also seen as tending to lead towards the liberalisation of the health system, expanding the privatisation of health services and would eliminate the minimum allocation for the health budget.

The centralisation of healthcare management by the central government is also regarded as reducing independent learning and development in the health sector.

Translated by James Balowski for Indoleft News. The original title of the article was “YLBHI: RUU Kesehatan Bodong Naskah Akademiknya, seperti UU Cipta Kerja”.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Community leaders around Panguna mine in the autonomous Papua New Guinea region of Bougainville want mining giant Rio Tinto to help out following recent flooding.

Rio Tinto was the owner/operator of the mine which has laid derelict for more than 30 years.

Fears of the threat from flooding in the river system near the mine have increased in recent years.

Recent heavy rain has choked rivers with mine tailings waste, resulting in several communities being swamped.

Residents have reported peoples’ homes have been inundated, water supplies and food crops compromised.

The flooding risks were highlighted in an independent report by Tetra Tech Coffey published last year.

This report was prepared as a baseline to inform an independent human rights and environmental impact assessment that launched in December 2022 and which Rio Tinto committed to fund in response to a human rights complaint by 156 local residents.

Phase 1 of the assessment is due to report in mid-2024.

Immediate funding call
Community leaders are calling for immediate funding from Rio Tinto for tangible action to address urgent health and safety issues in their communities, as well as a commitment from the company now that it will fund long-term solutions after each phase of the impact assessment.

To date, Rio Tinto has agreed to fund the human rights and environmental impact assessment only.

The chairperson of the Lower Tailings Landowners Association, Bernardine Kiraa, said: “Our communities are drowning in mine tailings waste.”

“The recent flooding damaged peoples’ houses, food crops and water sources. Women have been having trouble finding clean water to wash their babies.

“We worry about the spread of mosquitoes and disease following the flooding.”

Theonila Roka-Matbob, who is a local MP and local landowner, and who led the campaign for the environmental assessment said: “We have welcomed Rio Tinto’s commitment to assessing the impacts of the Panguna mine.”

“We know the process will be a long one. But we have been dealing with the disaster caused by the mine for decades.”

‘Always worrying about food’
“We are always worrying that the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe is not safe. We worry about levees collapsing and mine waste flooding our lands and communities,” she said.

“We need tangible action now to address urgent health and safety issues. And we need to know what Rio’s intentions are after the impact assessment – that they will stick with us and fund the long-term solutions we need.”

The legal director at Australia’s Human Rights Law Centre, Adrianne Walters, said: “Communities are being asked to be patient while the impact assessment progresses over a number of years.”

“But they also need action now and a public commitment from Rio Tinto that it will actually remedy the devastating impacts of the mine.”

“Rio Tinto’s commitment to assessing the impacts of its former mine is an important first step,” Walters said.

“The company now needs to publicly reassure communities that it is firmly committed to funding the long-term solutions that will allow them to live safely on their land.”

Rio Tinto gave away its shares in Bougainville Copper Ltd (BCL) in 2016 but it has subsequently agreed to the funding of the human rights and environmental assessment.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Tokelau’s largest atoll, Nukunonu, is now out of lockdown after experiencing its first community cases of covid-19.

In a statement, the government said Fakaofo Atoll has had two cases at the border and Nukunonu now has six positive community cases — all within the same household.

This includes the two new community cases who are children from the same family who have been isolating together.

The two kids were confirmed as covid-19 positive on Friday, May 26.

Tokelau confirmed its first community case on May 21, becoming one of the last places in the world to record community transmission.

Government spokesperson Aukusitino Vitale said they were all in good health and were being taken care of.

Hospital staff continued to manage their situation daily.

Meanwhile, the Council for the Ongoing Government, chaired by the Ulu o Tokelau (head of government), is set to meet on Friday to discuss the next official covid-19 update.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The World Health Organisation’s decision to remove covid-19 as a global health emergency is the right move, epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker says.

The organisation said the virus was now an established and ongoing health issue that no longer constituted a public health emergency of international concern.

Professor Baker said the global status change made sense at this stage, but it did not impact on whether covid-19 was still a pandemic.

Covid-19 was still New Zealand’s number one killer when it came to infectious disease and people should make sure they were vaccinated and take sensible precautions, he said.

“There might be some scaling down in the international reporting of cases, but really it doesn’t make a difference to somewhere like New Zealand.

“It makes no practical difference whatsoever to how countries manage this infection.”

1000 NZ deaths predicted this year
Professor Baker earlier said that this year covid-19 was on track to kill some 1000 people in New Zealand and hospitalise around 10,000.

The threat of long covid also loomed — with one recent study suggesting as many as one in five New Zealanders reported lingering symptoms after their first infection.

He emphasised the need for caution in easing our few remaining protections.

The latest vaccine was one of the best things people could do to guard against the disease, because it included protection against omicron — the current dominant variant circulating in the community.

“You have to always think why the World Health Organisation assigned it [a global health emergency originally] and it’s really related to these certain criteria.

“It is about how severe and how unexpected [the disease is], but it’s really about whether an international response is needed and whether there’s potential for international spread.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

South Auckland’s poor turnout for the 2018 Aotearoa New Zealand national census could have cost the region $130 million in health funding.

And, according to an expert, that cash could have helped tackle the area’s battles with diabetes and obesity.

Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand said the defunct Counties Manukau District Health Board lost $130m in health funding in its last four years due to the low turnout in the area during the 2018 census.

Information from the five-yearly stocktake helps determine how billions of dollars in government spending is allocated across health, education, transport, infrastructure and other services.

Counties Manukau has more people with diabetes than any other health region in the country.

Te Whatu Ora (Counties Manukau) Director of Population Health Gary Jackson said additional money would help fund programmes to battle two issues affecting many people in the region.

He said there were 52,000 diabetics in Counties Manukau and that figure was growing by 2000 people a year. It is also home to 19 percent of all New Zealanders in the most extreme BMI group.

Only 71 percent response
Figures released by Stats NZ this week show only 71 percent of people in South Auckland have so far completed the census in 2023, compared to 83 percent nationwide.

Te Whatu Ora Chief Financial Officer Rosalie Percival said getting people to provide their details was vital to ensure areas like Counties Manukau got the healthcare services they needed.

“Health providers know about the people who turn up at their door needing care — but they have no other way of knowing about the presence of people who haven’t recently needed to use the health system,” she said.

“The data gained from the census helps to inform important decisions about planning for the needs of local areas and subsequently healthcare spending.”

However, Buttabean Motivation (BBM) founder Dave Letele said getting people to complete the census was not easy.

Letele, who is potentially standing for Te Pāti Māori this year, was an ambassador for Census 2023 and was involved in a social media campaign which kicked off late last year to get more people to take part.

“There’s a massive distrust between our people and the government and that’s what we need to overcome,” Letele said.

Wary about personal information
He said as a result a lot of people were wary about sharing their personal information with authorities.

“But it’s not just something you can throw money at to fix it.”

Deputy Government Statistician and deputy chief executive for census and collection operations Simon Mason confirmed the turnout at the last census in 2018 was poor in Counties Manukau.

“That is why it is critically important that people complete the census — so their communities are counted . . .”

Mason said the 2023 event was designed to address barriers to participation, including having more collectors and alternate formats for people to complete it and support a wider range of people.

A spokesperson for Stats NZ said it would still have field teams collecting people’s responses until May 3 and will be running census support events until June 4.

Pacific Media Watch reports that the Counties Manukau health population is ethnically diverse with the largest Pacific population and second largest Māori popukation of any New Zealand health board.

In the 2018 census, 16 percent of the population served by CM Health identified as Māori, 22 percent as Pacific, 28 percent as Asian and 34 percent as NZ European/other groups.

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. It is published by Asia Pacific Report in collaboration.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker says Aotearoa New Zealand is experiencing its fourth wave of covid-19 infection and warns people to stay vigilant.

He said it was not as intense as the previous waves but it was definite, with a gradual rise in the number of self-reported cases every day, as seen in RNZ’s ongoing database of covid-19 information.

“It’s the first distinct rise, a sustained rise in cases this year.

“We’ve seen that numbers reached a low point in February and have been tracking up since then.”

The average number of daily cases sits at about 2000 at the moment, but Professor Baker said the actual number could be higher with people less inclined to test and report.

He said other indicators including the number of hospitalisations, people in intensive care units, deaths and traces of the virus in wastewater were also pointing to a new wave.

He encouraged people to get the new covid booster, isolate if they were infected, and mask up in poorly ventilated environments.

“It’s really important that everyone who has a position in authority thinks about the health of their workforce and their school population and the social venues that they operate in.”

Professor Baker also said that the Ministry of Education should provide monitors to reduce transmission in early childhood centres.

He also encouraged people to mask up on public transport.

“If you’re on a bus commuting … or train, you are going to be in that indoor environment for many hours every week and the ventilation is poor, so that would be a situation where I think masks should still be worn by everyone.”

Last week, cabinet decided to keep the few remaining covid-19 restrictions for at least the next two months.

Most pandemic rules have been scrapped, but people still have to self-isolate for seven days if they test positive, and masks must be worn in hospitals in some circumstances.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz