Two new reports have exposed the wider social problems rippling through New Zealand following the Covid-19 pandemic.
One of those reports released by the Human Rights Commission has highlighted the racism directed at Māori and Asian communities in New Zealand.
Forty percent of respondents say they’ve experienced discrimination since the start of the pandemic with some fearing for their personal safety .
New Zealand’s report follows similar concerns in the US, where Asian American communities have found a pattern of targeted hate since Covid emerged .
The Human Rights Commission’s full report into the issue can be found here , while Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon will discuss the findings further on TVNZ’s Breakfast around 7.20am today.
Meanwhile, a damning new State of the Nation report by the Salvation Army has highlighted the nation’s growing inequality gap , which they say has been magnified by Covid-19.
The social housing register has hit a record high, there's been a rapid increase in the number of children in benefit households, and more than 113,000 food parcels were delivered last year. The Salvation Army says some 10,000 people used their services for the first time since New Zealand’s first lockdown.
The organisation is now calling on the Government to use the Covid-19 Recovery Fund to address inequality. Their full State of the Nation report can be found here .
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D-Day for alert levels
The Government is due to reveal its decision on alert levels later today as health officials await the latest batch of crucial Covid test results.
No new community cases of the virus were recorded yesterday but the source of the weekend’s new cases remains a mystery.
National’s Covid-19 Response spokesperson Chris Bishop says the Government did the right thing by raising alert levels this week.
He says ideally the source of the new infections and how transmission occurred should be found before any further decisions on alert levels are taken, adding that there would be “whole other issues” raised if theories the student who fell ill with Covid may have been infected before her mother prove true.
Meanwhile, some Taranaki leaders are calling for an alert level change for their region, saying the area should be moved to Level 3 rather than left at Level 2.
Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says there are still plenty of vulnerabilities in the region and “real concern on the ground about how this is rolling out”.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield will hold a press conference about the alert levels at 4.30pm today, following a 3pm Cabinet meeting.
Specific vaccine plan for Māori
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer was also busy yesterday pushing the Government to reveal its Covid vaccine plans for Māori.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says there will be a specific vaccination rollout plan for Māori given they "are at increased risk of exposure to Covid-19 and increased risk of harm if they contract the virus". He says the plan will focus on “supporting vaccine confidence”.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has granted emergency authorisation to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which should allow the company’s partners to ship millions of doses to countries as part of a UN-backed programme.
That move comes as WHO revealed a decline in the number of new reported Covid cases for the fifth week running .
Australia has also approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for use across the Tasman. Initial supplies will be imported before doses are manufactured locally there.
New Zealand’s Medsafe is still getting further data from AstraZeneca before making their decision on that vaccine.
New measures for tracking virus
ESR is rolling out daily testing of wastewater in south Auckland and Taranaki as health officials continue to track any spread of the latest community outbreak of Covid-19.
ESR chief scientist Brett Cowan told RNZ the wastewater testing is another instrument in New Zealand's surveillance toolkit.
Other means for tracking the virus are also being debated, including making use of the Covid tracer app mandatory , and daily saliva testing for border workers.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the Government is considering rolling saliva testing out further but says “questions marks” remain over the process. She appeared frustrated in Parliament’s debating chamber yesterday as National and ACT continued to press the issue.
Meanwhile, there are new MIQ processes in place as Auckland’s Pullman Hotel reopens to returnees following a deep clean of the facility and changes to its operations.
Chris Hipkins says lessons learned and changes made at the Pullman are being rolled out across the wider MIQ system.
NZ and Australia in citizenship row
The Prime Minister fired an extraordinary broadside at her Australian counterpart yesterday during a trans-Tasman tussle over a woman accused of being an Isis terrorist.
Suhayra Aden and two children were intercepted by Turkish police while trying to cross the border illegally from Syria this week.
Aden has dual New Zealand and Australian citizenship, however Australia has stripped her of citizenship there .
The move has prompted a furious response from Jacinda Ardern, who’s accusing Australia of exporting their problems to New Zealand. She says her major concern now is for the two young children caught up in the situation.
Other news of note this morning:
- The Interislander ferry service is working to accommodate hundreds of delayed passengers after they were left stranded at sea yesterday .
- Napier’s Art Deco Festival, which usually draws tens of thousands to the region, has been cancelled because of the change to Covid-19 alert levels. Multiple sporting events are also in jeopardy following the new Covid cases.
- The Government is pushing through new laws for special support payments for businesses in the event of a Covid-19 resurgence.
- A report that Los Angeles police officers circulated a photo of George Floyd with the words “you take my breath away” in a Valentine-like format has prompted an internal investigation.
- New Zealand’s war on invasive wasps is being stepped up with approval being given to introduce two "enemy" insects .
- And play time with your cat may seem like a great source of entertainment, but a new study suggests it could also be an easy way of saving wildlife .
And finally...
Heading back into lockdown isn’t a barrel of laughs for most people – but it’s especially tough for the supermarket staff who toil around the clock to make sure shelves are sanitised and restocked following toilet paper frenzies.
Employees have already had to deal with some awful behaviour from customers since Auckland shifted to Level 3, so Seven Sharp sent reporter Jordyn Rudd to put a smile on their dial .
Because a little thank-you can go a long way (and so does a 24-pack of toilet paper, so put that second lot down.)
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