South Island can go it alone if vaccination targets are reached
Some South island regions could be just weeks from a Governmentannounced target of having 90 per cent of their populations fully Covid vaccinated, while parts of the island are lagging behind.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a new traffic light alert system yesterday which will see New Zealand move out of the alert level system once all district health boards (DHBs) have 90 per cent of their populations fully vaccinated.
However, the South Island can relax restrictions without having to wait for the rest of the country when all its DHBs reach the target, she said.
The traffic light system will use vaccine certificates to allow events and businesses including restaurants, bars, and hairdressers to operate without social distancing and capacity caps.
As of this week, the West Coast had the South Island’s lowest fully vaccinated rate of 60.8 per cent, with Canterbury second lowest at 62.4 per cent.
Further ahead are the South Canterbury DHB with 66.9 per cent fully vaccinated, Southern with 70.6 per cent, and Nelson/Marlborough with 72.3 per cent.
Professor Michael Plank, a Covid modeller from Canterbury University and research centre Te Pu¯naha Matatini, said the first-vaccination numbers indicated where progress was needed.
Plank said because 87.6 per cent of Canterbury residents have had one dose and second doses can follow after three weeks, the region is probably ‘‘with a bit of a push’’ only weeks from the 90 per cent full vaccination target.
Other one-dose percentages for South Island DHBs are Southern (86.8 per cent), Nelson-Marlborough (84.4 per cent), and South Canterbury (82.7 per cent).
However, the West Coast with a single-dose rate of 77.4 per cent needed to catch up, Plank said.
‘‘The West Coast is lagging significantly behind. Maybe there’s a bit of complacency there.’’ He said initiatives such as a vaccination bus for the West Coast, or a local vaxathon could help boost numbers.
The West Coast had the secondbiggest response to the October 16 Super Saturday vaxathon of any DHB area, with four per cent of coast residents turning out for a jab.
But one South Island mayor is sceptical over whether the 90 per cent target can be reached.
Westland mayor Bruce Smith said that he did not know if the West Coast could reach the 90 per cent target.
‘‘The South Island shouldn’t be in level anything. Ninety per cent for the entire country when the South Island is at day 348 without a case of Covid seems to be very extreme. People would have the feeling that 90 per cent is a target that can’t be met,’’ he said.
He said the region was 600km long with a sparsely spread population of 33,000.
If the 600-strong population at Gloriavale Christian Community did not get vaccinated, the figure would be very hard to reach, he said.
The Lake Brunner area has the lowest vaccination rate in the region, with only 51.6 per cent having at least one dose.
Auckland will move to red on the traffic lights system as soon as the three Auckland DHBs reach the 90 per cent double vaccination target.
‘‘For the rest of the country, once every DHB hits 90 percent double vaccinated we anticipate we will move collectively, together, to orange,’’ Ardern said yesterday.
‘‘At orange – everything remains open, but because of vaccine certificates, all of the gathering limits currently in place for events, gatherings or hospitality can lift.’’
Places that choose not to use vaccine certificates will either be closed or will have public health measures in place.
Ardern said special consideration when thinking about the traffic light settings was given to the South Island, which hasn’t had a Covid case in the community in almost a year.
‘‘We are open to moving the South Island before the rest of the country, if all the DHBs in the south hit their targets before others.’’
Smith said he would not blame West Coasters if the rest of the country was left waiting for the region to catch up.
‘‘It won’t be the West Coast dragging the country back, it will be the people that sets the rules,’’ he said.
Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce chief executive Leeann Watson welcomed the Government’s plan, saying it would give businesses the confidence to plan ahead.
‘‘There has been a high degree of frustration across our community at the lack of information for Christchurch, Canterbury and the South Island in the last few Government announcements,’’ she said.
Watson said there would be some frustration at having to remain at alert level 2 until the South Island was 90 per cent fully vaccinated.
She also welcomed the framework’s legal guidelines for businesses around refusing entry to nonvaccinated people, and for employers with staff vaccine mandates.
It was a topic they had received ‘‘numerous inquiries’’ about, she said.
‘‘It is good to hear about the Government’s vaccination targets and once we reach these, what the new operating conditions are likely to be for businesses.’’
WHAT THE CHANGES MEAN
The Auckland region will transition into a new Covid-19 framework as soon as the region’s three district health boards hit 90 per cent of their eligible populations being fully vaccinated.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and ministers Grant Robertson, Chris Hipkins and Peeni Henare yesterday unveiled the next steps in opening up Auckland and the wider country.
Ardern announced New Zealand as a whole would not transition to the new Covid-19 protection framework – essentially a traffic light system – until all 20 district health boards reach 90 per cent double-dose coverage.
Ardern said the framework would help New Zealand stay safe from Covid-19 in the future.
‘‘It will protect lives and allow us to live our lives as safely as possible.’’
Ardern said the 90 per cent double-dose target meant ‘‘we now have a collective goal’’.
However, the Auckland DHBs have to date been reporting as a single entity, so it is not known exactly what the vaccination coverage is at each.
Experts have previously told Stuff that 90 per cent of all eligible Aucklanders, across all communities, is the bare minimum for easing restrictions for the region.
In the ‘‘red light’’ zone, used when the spread of Covid-19 potentially threatens the healthcare system, private gatherings are limited and some interregional travel is restricted. Schools and retail stores would remain open but may have capacity limits, and hospitality businesses could open but for table service only and with the requirement that customers are vaccinated.
On November 29, Cabinet will review the progress Auckland and the rest of the country has made. In the meantime, Cabinet will keep assessing the current settings in place in Auckland, and the region will move through these if it is safe to do so.
Vaccine certificates will be a critical part of the new framework, and will be mandated to access venues and events country-wide. If businesses choose to use vaccination certificates, they can operate at every level. If not, there will likely be some restrictions at some levels.
For retail, things are a little different. Certificates won’t be used at essential goods and services, such as supermarkets and pharmacies.
But generally speaking, non-vaccinated individuals will get ‘‘far less freedoms’’.
Auckland had done the ‘‘heavy lifting’’ for the country and Ardern said she hoped the announcement would give those in the region a better sense of its path.
Auckland is about 12,000 vaccines away from hitting 90 per cent first doses. ‘‘When that turns into double doses, that is when this framework kicks in for you,’’ Ardern said.
There was also an economic component to the announcements, with Finance Minister Grant Robertson releasing a new business support and recovery package for Auckland in particular through the transition. The Covid-19 Resurgence Support Payment for businesses will be doubled and paid fortnightly – paying out up to $43,000 per business, from November 12.
There has also been an extension to the hardship assistance package for families, and a plan announced to accelerate Ma¯ori vaccination rates.
What about the border?
Ardern said the border around Auckland would remain a ‘‘hard border’’. But the border would enable Auckland to move into the red zone of the traffic light framework earlier than others.
Ardern said officials wanted to enable Aucklanders to move but did not want the virus to move with them.
The prime minister said reaching this point by Christmas was ‘‘within Auckland’s grasp’’. Vaccination rates were key and vaccination certificates would help push this.
Ardern said they were investigating using vaccine certificates and a testing regime to allow Aucklanders to eventually be able to move outside the region. However, this was a ‘‘considerable’’ logistical exercise.
Ardern’s message is: ‘‘If you want to be able to move beyond Auckland, get vaccinated.’’
‘Powerful’ incentive to get jabbed
Auckland mayor Phil Goff welcomed the additional support announced for Auckland businesses, and said the new framework and vaccination targets would provide more certainty and clear goals heading into summer.
Goff said the framework set a clear goal of having 90 per cent of Aucklanders double vaccinated and contained ‘‘powerful’’ incentives for people to get vaccinated if they wanted to enjoy the freedoms others had.
‘‘Our progress will rely on getting people vaccinated so the transition happens safely.’’
Goff said doubling the rate of the Resurgence Support Payment would help many businesses cope until they were able to resume more normal operations at a lower level of restrictions.
‘‘It will help keep businesses alive and people in work’’, given many Auckland businesses were struggling, he said.
‘‘Low-income households whose incomes have been affected are also suffering the effects of lockdown. I welcome the additional flexibility and support that will be available to single people and families eligible for hardship assistance.’’
Manukau councillor Alf Filipaina also welcomed the Government’s $120 million package to boost Ma¯ori vaccination rates, saying it was a ‘‘clear signal’’ authorities understood Ma¯ori were best equipped to lead the vaccine effort in their community. ‘‘My message to all our communities now is: please get vaccinated to protect your wha¯nau and your loved ones from Covid-19.’’