Morning Briefing Aug 6: Are younger people carrying Covid burden now?

Spaghetti bolognese

There are concerns younger people are carrying a greater Covid burden, the Tokyo Games become NZ's most successful Olympics; and there's heated debate over a bill to ban conversion therapy.

Another 300,000 Kiwis will be able to book in for their Covid vaccine from today, five days earlier than expected.

But as those aged 55-59 roll up their sleeves for their jab, there are concerns younger people are carrying a greater burden with the Delta variant.

Leading New South Wales University epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws says New Zealand “needs to listen very carefully” to other nations dealing with Delta and “open the vaccine out to everybody” now. 

The UK has expanded its vaccine rollout to people aged 16 and 17 , while other European countries are already vaccinating children as young as 12.

According to the New York Times, doctors in the US say unvaccinated patients in their 20s and 30s are becoming “sicker, quicker” , but data on this is lacking, with some experts putting the shift in patient demographics down to lower vaccination rates among younger people. 

Meanwhile, there’s also concern New Zealanders have once again become complacent about Covid, having not reported a case of community transmission since February.

The number of people using the Covid tracing app has plummeted of late and McLaws says Kiwis need to get scanning again, especially when it comes to the highly infectious Delta strain. 

It comes as Covid continues to cause upheaval across the Tasman, with Victoria entering lockdown for a sixth time last night to contain yet another growing outbreak of the virus.

Several other regions of New South Wales also joined Greater Sydney in lockdown yesterday as the state recorded its highest daily case total and another five deaths. 

Sign up to get the Morning Briefing delivered direct to your inbox – here.

NZ's medal tally grows

It was a day for breaking medal records at the Tokyo Olympics yesterday with the New Zealand team officially racking up its best medal haul and Lisa Carrington becoming the country’s most decorated Olympian of all time. 

The Kiwi track cycling team won two stunning silver medals late last night, with Ellesse Andrews shocking the field in the women's keirin and Campbell Stewart putting in a superb effort in the final omnium event .

Their efforts came hours after Carrington added another gold medal to her Tokyo collection, officially overtaking another kayaker, Ian Ferguson, as the Kiwi Olympian with the most medals and most golds. Ferguson told Seven Sharp last night he was thrilled to see his old record broken

Tom Walsh also added a bronze medal to New Zealand’s tally with his efforts in the men’s shot put final.

An emotional Walsh fought back tears following the event, saying it was “awesome” to win a medal after a tough 18 months.

And there could still be more medals to come for the New Zealand team, including another for Carrington as she, Caitlin Regal, Alicia Hoskin, and Teneale Hatton hit the water today for the K4 500m event. You can find the Kiwi athletes’ schedule for today here .

Google billionaire a NZ resident

Immigration New Zealand has confirmed Google co-founder Larry Page is a resident of New Zealand .

The revelation comes after details emerged of an emergency trip made here by the billionaire and his son from Fiji earlier in the year, amid tight border restrictions. Page’s son required urgent medical assistance, but some are questioning whether preferential treatment was given. 

Meanwhile, Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi has rejected criticism of the Government’s current handling of the expressions of interest (EOI) queue for residency.

The backlog stands at around 12,000 EOIs who are already in New Zealand, with another 1500 applications from people abroad.

Faafoi told TVNZ’s Breakfast that Immigration is under pressure but "we are going to be making some decisions very soon about how we can deal with the queue and get on with making sure we can give some of those people some certainty”.

Conversion therapy ban closer

The first reading of the proposed law to ban conversion therapy has passed, with all parties except National voting for it.

A tense debate in the House saw Labour’s Louisa Wall telling National it’s sitting on the “wrong side of history”. National also came under fire from its own youth wing for its decision to vote against the bill.

National committed to supporting the ban in February, however they say the proposed law is “vague”.

The bill still needs to go through multiple steps, which involve public submissions and possible changes, before it becomes law. 

Govt urged to act on rheumatic fever

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is being urged to deliver another of her election promises as she celebrates hitting a state house milestone.

The Government believes it’s now well on track to deliver 18,000 new public homes by 2024, but public health experts are urging them to get on with another election promise - to set up a register to track and treat rheumatic fever. The disease is linked to overcrowding and poor-quality housing.

Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall says there will be “more to say” on rheumatic fever in the next few months. 

Meanwhile, there are also calls for the Government to take immediate action to remedy the country’s rising rental prices.

Rents have increased by 25 per cent over the past five years, while wages have increased by just 13 per cent. Renters United and the Green Party say rent controls would provide Kiwi renters with better affordability and stability.

1 NEWS reporter Imogen Wells has also written about the issue, sharing her own experience of finding somewhere to rent . She says the prospect of having to find somewhere new to live “terrifies me”.

Marsden Point vote nigh

The fate of 240 jobs at the Marsden Point oil refinery will be decided this afternoon .

The refinery's shareholders will vote after months of speculation over its future. If 75 per cent of the vote is in favour, Marsden Point will be transformed into a fuel import terminal.

The facility is New Zealand’s only oil refinery, meaning if it closes, the country would rely solely on imported petrol and diesel. 

Other news of note this morning:

- As the Americas pass the grim milestone of two million deaths linked to Covid-19, hotels are being converted into hospitals in Cuba as the country fights a surge of the virus. 

- Gang influence in New Zealand’s jails is growing rapidly, with exclusive figures showing a record number of gang-affiliated prisoners on remand. 

- The Prime Minister, Police Minister, and Police Commissioner are remaining firmly against the general arming of police, despite 73 per cent of frontline officers favouring the move .

- The Rugby League World Cup has been postponed until 2022 after tournament organisers bowed to pressure from NRL clubs.

- New Zealand has experienced its warmest June and July on record .

- Auckland councillor Efeso Collins is calling for free public transport to address fairness across the city's transport system.

- And Rihanna has joined the billionaire club , with Forbes magazine reporting the star’s net worth at an estimated $2.4 billion. 

And finally...

If your dinner tonight looks very familiar, you’re not alone.

It turns out most Kiwis have just seven recipes in their repertoire that they can cook - and a quarter of us only have four dishes we can prepare.

So, how easy is it to whip up a new meal for the family? Seven Sharp investigates...

SHARE ME

More Stories