Iwi protecting its own
‘Omicron could take out an entire marae’
A Waikato iwi has set up its own isolation facilities to protect those most at risk of getting Covid-19 and avoid a marae outbreak ‘‘tragedy’’.
Ngāti Hauā has built seven portacoms at Te Hauora o Ngāti Hauā in Waharoa, 7km from Matamata, to isolate people who have tested positive for the virus, or to separate those most vulnerable.
Fully-equipped tents have also been set up on marae across the region for families and individuals who don’t want to leave home.
‘‘An outbreak would be a tragedy. Omicron could take out an entire marae,’’ Te Hauora o Ngāti Hauā chief executive Darrin Haimona told Stuff.
Across the five marae in the region – Matamata, Te Aroha, Morrinsville, Cambridge, Tauwhare and parts of Hamilton – 3000 people are at risk of contracting the virus, Haimona said.
‘‘We live as one, we don’t live in isolation. So if one person got sick, the risk to everyone else is extremely high,’’ he said.
‘‘We have a high number of people in our community with underlying health conditions, it’s not just the elderly, a lot of our children have asthma.’’
The units are for Ngāti Hauā whānau only.
‘‘We believe that if we can take care of ourselves then we put less pressure and demand on services that can be used for others. This sounds noble but in reality we weren’t expecting anyone to save us anyway.
‘‘We know our community and population. Don’t make us responsible for everyone.’’
Ngāti Hauā has been watching closely what has been happening overseas with the pandemic, and while the closed borders gave its community time to prepare, the people didn’t have the set-up to isolate safely.
‘‘It’s overcrowded with multigenerations and if we followed international trends that we were seeing overseas, we weren’t ready. The fear was real.
‘‘It was about standing up and taking action. The world was changing, and while at first we left it up to the Government to protect us, we could see the real change if we got involved.’’
They also looked at how the Government managed MIQ facilities across New Zealand to see how it’s run. By October the initiative was in action and by late December the facility was in operation.
‘‘There’s been many people working on this. The Māori providers right have been working hard across the region, sharing information and training together.’’
The iwi didn’t receive any funding for the setup – it cost around $400,000 to purchase and furnish the units – something Haimona says will eventually be sold when no longer needed.
The units are furnished which include a TV, tablets, air conditioning and daily meal delivery.
‘‘We have security on-site, but it’s never needed. We never have to worry about them absconding because we know where they live, we know their mother, uncle, cousin, and brother,’’ Haimona quipped.
There are 12 trained staff working behind the scenes cooking, cleaning, administering vaccinations, medication, and tests. When there’s no longer a demand for the facilities, Haimona hopes to set up individual isolation pods at marae.
Haimona works for Oranga Tamariki in Wellington. On his days off he returns to Waharoa to help manage the facility.
‘‘This is just an extension of my work.’’