Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed that the whole of New Zealand will move into the red light covid-19 setting at midnight Sunday night (January 23, 2022) in response to the covid-19 pandemic.

Nine covid-19 cases in Nelson yesterday have been confirmed as the omicron variant, Ardern said.

Another household member has since tested positive.

They are one family and recently attended a wedding and other events in Auckland and there is no clear link to the border.

Ardern said there were well over 100 people at these events.

The family was on the same flight as an Air New Zealand flight attendant who tested positive. All members of the family who were eligible have been double vaccinated, Ardern said.

“That means omicron is now circulating in Auckland and possibly the Nelson-Marlborough region, if not elsewhere,” Ardern said.

Focus on slowing the spread
Ardern said the focus is on slowing the spread of the omicron variant and the strategy includes rapid tests, contact tracing and isolating cases and contacts.

New Zealand’s system has “significant capacity” to work on stamping out outbreaks due to low case numbers, she said.

Watch the NZ government media briefing today. Video: RNZ News

“We know we will see far more cases than we have in the two years to date, but the difference to previous outbreaks is we are vaccinated and we are better prepared.”

Ardern encouraged New Zealanders to get their boosters saying it will help limit the spread and limit the likelihood of someone getting sick or needing to go to hospital.

She also encouraged parents and caregivers to seek out information about vaccines for their children.

Already, 20 percent of children aged 5-11 have been vaccinated or are booked to receive their vaccination.

Red light setting
Ardern reminded people the red light settings was not a lockdown.

She said it had restrictions, but business was still open, gathering numbers were reduced and differed depending on whether people were vaccinated or not.

Hospitality was seated and required a single server.

She said schools remained open, with mask wearing for everyone from year 4 upwards.

Ardern said school ventilation systems would be assessed.

Ardern encouraged households to have a “buddy” to help with food, for example, if someone in a household was unwell from covid-19.

The government had been preparing for three stages in its response to omicron, Ardern said.

Phase one includes the period up to 1000 cases a day or less. This is expected to take up to 14 days to arrive, and involves a “stamping-out approach”, she said. That includes contact tracing, isolation and testing anyone with symptoms at a community testing station or primary health provider. PCR tests will be used, but rapid antigen tests will also be rolled out to these providers.

In stage one people will need to isolate for 14 days if they are a case or a contact.

Stage two is a transition stage where the system is adjusted to identifying those at greater risk of omicron and where there is the greatest risk of severe illness from omicron.

When asked, Ardern said her wedding would not be going ahead under the red setting.

Ardern said New Zealand was not likely to enter stage three for a few weeks.

Stage three will involve changes to contact tracing. It will include the definition of contacts and isolation requirements and more details will be provided on Wednesday.

“It’s important to remember covid is a different foe to what it was at the beginning,” Ardern said.

Because of vaccinations, it would be a mild to moderate illness which could be managed at home, she said.

But she said the “team” still needed to do what it could to slow it down, as some people are immuno-compromised and more vulnerable to the virus.

When asked if cabinet had considered funding N95 masks, Ardern said there would be an assessment on mask advice to consider if there needed to be an update.

Risk of undetected omicron transmission ‘high’ – Bloomfield
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said anyone with symptoms should get tested for Covid-19.

He said the risk of undetected transmission of the omicron variant in Auckland was considered high, because the Nelson family that had tested positive spent time at a wedding there.

New locations of interest will be listed on the Ministry of Health’s website.

There are five Air New Zealand flights that are locations of interest, which include the flights the infected family took, and the flights the flight attendant worked on.

• Flight NZ5083 from Auckland to Nelson at 5.20pm on 16 January
• NZ5080 Nelson to Auckland at 4pm on 19 January
• NZ5077 Auckland to Nelson at 2pm on 19 January
• NZ5049 Auckland to New Plymouth at 7.50pm on 19 January
• NZ5042 New Plymouth to Auckland at 1.50pm on 20 January

Contacts who have been at a location of interest were legally required to isolate and get tested as per Section 70, Dr Bloomfield said.

The risk of undetected transmission was judged as being high, as it was unclear how they became infected and they attended a wedding, he said.

As of 11pm last night, 150 of 192 people on the Air New Zealand flights had been contacted by health officials.

Attendees at the wedding have attended other venues with high numbers of people, including a funeral, an amusement park, the Sky Tower and domestic airports.

It is expected the number of cases and contacts will grow, Dr Bloomfield said.

Dr Bloomfield said people who needed medical care could receive it, and urged them to not put it off. Hospitals are at 84 percent occupancy, which was typical at this time of year, and ICU occupancy was under 70 percent.

Wage subsidy scheme for sick/isolating workers – Robertson
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Grant Robertson said the economic disruption from the omicron variant was expected to be more on the supply side of things — as seen overseas.

He said the initial focus was on those unable to be at work because they were infected or were a close contact isolating.

Support for these people included the Covid-19 Leave Support Scheme, which was paid at the same rate as the Wage Subsidy Scheme.

There would also be a scheme in place for people unable to work from home when waiting on covid-19 test results.

Robertson said New Zealand could afford the financial support the government was providing — and if anything, cannot afford to not provide it.

He said the country’s debt is lower than expected in part because of the wider covid-19 action taken in New Zealand.

Robertson said the scenario planning shows there could be 350,00 people self-isolating at once at the mid-point scenario planning, which would be with 25,000 cases.

Samoa announces 48-hour lockdown
In Samoa, RNZ Pacific reports that Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa had announced the country would be going into lockdown from last night at 6pm until 6pm on Monday evening.

Only essential services would be allowed but all offices and shops, including all public transport, would be closed. Churches were also closed.

“No vehicles will be allowed on the roads during his time and police will be monitoring,” she said.

The prime minister said the decision was to ensure proper measures were in place to avert community transmission.

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

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Two days after President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Mā’ohi Nui last month, where the French leader urged the local population to get vaccinated against the danger of the new  delta variant of the covid pandemic already on the islands, High Commissioner Domique Sorain and territorial President Édouard Fritch announced a new set of orders aimed at prohibiting unlawful gatherings.

Here is the wording of High Commissioner Sorain on local television on July 30:

“All festive events such as weddings, birthdays and baby showers, along with concerts in cafes, hotels and restaurants are prohibited” – Tahiti Infos

Sorain added a caveat that would allow restaurants and other food courts to operate if the number of guests was less than 500, with six people a table, with no dancing and performances allowed — and with respecting all protective measures already in place.

Any breach would result in a fine of up to NZ$235.

Five days after these announcements — and in the middle of the restrictions imposed to combat the spread of the new delta variant — Vice-President Teari’i Te Moana Alpha celebrated his wedding.

His guest list included nearly all the members of the local government (the ministers of Health and of Culture were not present) for a total number of around 300 guests at Tahiti’s Paul Gauguin Restaurant.

Wedding shown on Facebook
This event was shown on the Facebook social media platform, thanks to the work of well-known local journalist Vaite Urarii Pambrun and was viewed by thousands of internet users.

This triggered a torrent of critical comment — and at times insults — hurled at the members of the government for their blatant hypocrisy.

Journalist Pambrun also became the target of violent diatribes on social media and she was called a “snitch” by the local government’s supporters for reporting what was happening in broad daylight.

It did not help that President Fritch gave another one of his awful speeches at the wedding where he told the audience to simply throw Pambrun in the water if they ever saw her.

The wedding of the vice president: Fritch minimises and says sorry, Sorain remaining firm (Tahiti Infos)

It must be remembered that many people who transgressed against the measures imposed since March last year were fined by the High Commissioner.

Equal penalty?
One might have expected an equal penalty for all those who took part in the wedding of the year.

In a typical administrative and French fashion, the High Commissioner promised on August 8 that an investigation had been launched into the fiasco.

Somehow the comments flooding social media platforms talked about a cover-up since at least one important representative of the French state was present at the wedding, and the gendarmes (French National Police) who were sent to the restaurant came out without putting an end to the wedding like they had done on other occasions.

It also emerged that some months before, the High Commissioner was asked for  authorisation to allow the wedding to go ahead, but he did not grant it.

It is ironic that the High Commissioner, who did know about the presence of one of his colleagues and the gendarmes at the wedding, did not make the decision to stop it.

To reassert his authority, the High Commissioner was quickly back on television this week  to remind Tahitians once more about the importance of sticking to the preventive measures in place.

But he also called upon the political personalities who were at the wedding to provide an explanation.

High Commissioner doubles down
He doubled down by saying that he sent the gendarmes to make a statement and that those found guilty of the breach would be fined and dealt with.

Many viewed this intervention as a stark warning to the members of government and other very important political personalities who were involved.

It signalled the beginning of a break in communication between President Fritch and High Commissioner Sorain.

President Fritch also went on television this week to respond, when asked why he waited four days to speak out, that he had wanted to see clearly what the situation was.  He did not want to intervene straight after the wedding.

Clearly he was afraid to add oil to the fire straight after pictures of the wedding were posted on social media.

In his interview, he admitted that the issue was not the number of guests or the preventive measures that, according to him, were followed (although pictures and videos seemed to contradict him). Howdever, it was the live music and the performances that ensued which should never have happened.

Fritch acknowledged that the behaviour of wedding guests was not exemplary and for that he was extremely sorry.

Wedding guests not above law
He also admitted that wedding guests were not above the law, and he understood the public’s disappointment.

Fritch and his government extended an unreserved apology to the public concerning the wedding party’s “lack of judgment”. He said that the investigation was still running and he and his government would take responsibility.

It is difficult to see any kind of sincerity in President Fritch’s comments on television when we know that he lied about the danger of nuclear testing and that he was found guilty and fined for abuse of public funds.

The question remains that neither of the two government leaders have given any reasons for breaking the law — why did the police not put an end to the wedding like they had done for other festive events?

Reaction from deputies Moetai Brotherson and Nicole Sanquer
Deputy Moetai Brotherson of the opposition pro-independence party Tavini Huiraatira also found himself in hot water when people saw that he attended the wedding.

He said that he decided to leave the wedding and talk to Vaite Pambrun when unjust attacks were made against the local journalist by President Fritch.

Moetai has tried to justify his presence at the wedding by saying that he came to see the man and not Vice-President Teari’i Alpha and that he had already accepted the invitation well before the restrictions were in place.

However, in hindsight he admitted that it was wrong to have gone to the wedding and he was ready to pay the fine.

He was the first to apologise for his lack of judgement. He was however perplexed about the gendarmes who were at the wedding and did not stop it.

He assumed that the High Commissioner had given authorisation for the event.

Non-aligned Deputy Nicole Sanquer has been more scathing towards the members of the local government which she was once a member of.

‘Law and sanctions are for others’
Using her own quote: “Law and sanctions are for others”, Sanquer shamed President Fritch who liked to remind the population that it was their duty to behave in an exemplary fashion during this pandemic.

On August 5, people witnessed a real scandal.

At a wedding that gathered hundreds of people with nearly all the members of the government and elected members of the parliament, and in the middle of a concert orchestrated by Fritch and Pape’ete Mayor Michel Buillard, Sanquer said:

“I could not find the words to describe such irresponsibility and lack of common sense. What credibility do they have now?”.

The High Commissioner reminded Tahitians of the rules to follow but what was seen on Facebook showed a lack of respect for the rules.

Why didn’t the High Commissioner put an end to the party like they usually do in the city centre? Are some people exempt from the law and sanctions?

Deputy Sanquer expressed special support for fairground workers, restaurant owners, artists, frontline doctors, nurses, and the whole Ma’ohi Nui population.

‘Carry on fighting the pandemic’
She added: “Let’s carry on fighting against this pandemic by protecting ourselves and above all not rely on the example of those who govern us.”

From a political stance, the question that should be in people’s mind is the following: are Fritch and Sorain the right people to govern Ma’ohi Nui when one considers himself above the law and the other seems reluctant to apply the law.

Alarming figures about the number of fatalities by covid-19.

The latest figures at the time of writing show 176 deaths (including 10 in 24 hours with 2 at home), 185 people in hospital (26 patients in ICU), and 1075 new cases, making it a total of more than 24,977 cases. There are 3,869 cases still active.

The number of people vaccinated with at least one dose is 103,033 since January 18, 2021.

Editor’s note: Since this article was written a further five people have died in Tahiti.

Ena Manuireva, born in Mangareva (Gambier islands) in Ma’ohi Nui (French Polynesia), is a language revitalisation researcher at Auckland University of Technology and is currently completing his doctorate on the Mangarevan language. He is also a campaigner for nuclear reparations justice from France over the 193 tests staged in Polynesia over three decades.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz