‘People failed to follow the rules’
Auckland is back in lockdown after fresh cases amid non-compliance, writes
AUCKLAND has been plunged back into a week-long level 3 lockdown after two fresh community cases and a warning from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern that people refusing to play by the rules had put the whole country at risk.
‘‘People who should have been in isolation weren’t and that has created multiple highrisk situations,’’ Ardern said.
She flew back to Wellington from Auckland after the case was confirmed yesterday and the decision to go back into lockdown followed an emergency Cabinet meeting.
It comes just weeks after Auckland came out of lockdown following the Valentines Day outbreak.
The case, known as case M, is an older sibling of a Papatoetoe High School student who was a casual plus contact. The mother of case M had also tested positive.
The Ministry of Health had earlier issued a press release stating the student had tested negative on three occasions and was asymptomatic.
Genome sequencing is now under way, trying to find how – and if – the case is linked.
If a link can’t be found, however, this will be something ‘‘we need to act on’’, the prime minister said.
The lack of a clear epidemiological link was one of the drivers behind the decision to go back into lockdown.
But there were also concerns about the fact the person had been symptomatic since Tuesday, yet had been out and about in Auckland, meaning there is a good chance of infection elsewhere.
The person visited the GP in the afternoon on Friday, and went to the gym after having their Covid-19 test.
The Papatoetoe City Fitness gym yesterday announced it had temporarily closed and urged members to self-isolate and get tested.
Ardern said it was ‘‘frustrating’’ and pleaded with people to stay the course as vaccines began to be rolled out.
As well as the failure to isolate, there had been a number of cases now where scanning hasn’t taken place with the tracer app.
‘‘It wouldn’t have necessarily prevented what we have here . . . where we’ve had isolation requirements that haven’t necessary been followed.
‘‘In its totality that has created multiple points of risk,’’ Ardern says
Auckland will move to alert level 3 for seven days. The rest of the country is moved to level 2. The alert levels kicked in from 6am today.
The announcement came shortly before the Joseph Parker/David Fa heavyweight boxing bout at Spark Arena, where organisers hoped for a crowd of 8000.
Ardern ruled out authorities stepping into call off the bout despite the risk, however.
Today’s Round the Bays, usually attended by tens of thousands, is cancelled.
America’s Cup racing could also be affected.
New Zealand Cricket swiftly moved its T20 international doubleheaders scheduled for Eden Park on Thursday to Wellington where they will be played without crowds.
It is offering full refunds for all those unable to see the internationals.
Ardern confirmed a border is
‘There have also been a number of cases now where scanning hadn’t taken place with the tracer app.’
being set up around Auckland again.
The need to go back into lockdown will spark questions about the Government’s earlier decision to lift lockdown.
But Ardern said there was nothing to suggest that anything has been lost by not being at level 3 the whole time.
‘‘Actually, the high-risk individuals we had already required to stay in isolation,’’ she says.
But people had failed to follow the rules.
‘‘We cannot exist in an environment where we set rules and they [are] breached consistently.’’
That would leave the country unable to contain Covid-19.
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson confirmed the level 3 and level 2 restrictions mean the wage subsidy scheme takes effect.
It will be paid out in a 14-day lump sum. It will apply for all of New Zealand, not just Auckland.
ANTS Pitman’s eyes fill with tears twice, firstly when he talks about the moment his life changed: July 20, 2015 at 6.56am. That was when his daughter died.
The second time is when he speaks about the pride he feels in his Huntly Team Little Big Bots running group.
The group gained national attention when Pitman’s former cellmate from Rangipo Prison, Paora Raharaha, ran the 100km Tarawera Ultramarathon wearing gumboots as a fundraiser for the group. He also did 10 burpees for every kilometre at each rest stage.
Pitman said they thought they might raise $2000. At the time of writing, the figure stands at $11,935.
When Sunday News calls at Pitman’s Huntly home to talk about his running group on a scorching hot summer afternoon, he shows us into a living room adorned with photos and medals his group of kids, aged between six and 14-years-old, has won over the past year.
We’re joined by eight of the kids, some Pitman’s own children, some not, and some of their mums.
The stay-at-home dad doesn’t shy away from the man he used to be.
‘‘Numerous charges, varied from burglary, aggravated robbery, meth, there were assaults, very serious-type charges,’’ he says. ‘‘I was out of my mind, I assumed no-one cared, I was angry.’’
When his daughter died, he realised he needed to turn his life around.
‘‘That was a big upset, that hurt. Then my nan passed away a year after.
‘‘After that it all came to me in one big hit. I needed to do something. I never thought I’d be doing something with other people’s kids, but they make me happy every day.’’
The passion for running coaching began two years ago, starting with concern about his son’s weight, and helped by the knowledge of
Raharaha’s experience.
‘‘I thought I could ring my old cellmate. This dude has been doing a whole heap of work around running, he can give me some dietary [information] and running exercises, and so every day he sent me a training regime.’’
Armed with that information, he then took son Niikcassinel’s Playstation away, telling him, ‘‘Now you’re going to run the block’’.
Soon enough sisters Vienna and Dalyn wanted to join in, then the trio completed their first running event in Hamilton.
After that, ‘‘everybody started coming’’.
He has 30 kids in the group now, and tears up for a second time talking about the positive effect they have had on him.
‘‘They pull me up. Prevents me from becoming what I used to [be],’’ he says.
In return, he’s earned their respect and affection.
At one point Pitman asks the kids what are the three things that ‘‘keep you learning’’.
A sea of hands shoot up, answers following quickly.
Exercise, good food and sleep.
Pitman speaks repeatedly about the importance of education for the kids. No school, no running group. They start at 6am each weekday, with some kids banging on his door at 5.45am. Then it’s 5k runs, burpees, breakfast, then school.
He asks the kids what they do after school. ‘‘Training.’’
‘‘Not walking around with red or blue [colours] in their pockets, pulling gang signs. There’s
enough of that on this street already,’’ he says. Pitman says the kids’ behaviour has improved, and they’re no longer the ‘‘sweary kids’’ they once were.
He’s even been known to move the whole group each morning if one parent has trouble with petrol money, taking them to Hamilton one time so everyone could be included in that morning’s exercise.
Carrie Cole, who has a son and daughter in the Bots, says it has transformed her children. Her daughter was overweight, and being bullied.
‘‘She was in a dark place, it helped and pulled her out,’’ says Cole. ‘‘He doesn’t know it, but he’s amazing. What my kids have been part of, I haven’t seen anything like it.’’
It isn’t just the kids that have changed though. ‘‘Everything has changed a whole heap in me,’’ Pitman says. ‘‘I’m no longer an angry person.’’
As we shift out into the street, Pitman gives us a demonstration of putting the kids through their paces, starting with some star jumps.
Then it’s time to hit the pavement, the children barely seeming to notice the heat as Pitman’s words of encouragement ring in their ears.
‘‘They bring so much joy to my life, they help me so much, help me stay on the right track.’’
Pitman also feels pride that he’s part of a positive conversation about Huntly, a town that as recently as December 2019 was named New Zealand’s worst town.
It’s also partly why he agreed to speak to Sunday News.
‘‘So I can push for more opportunities for kids in Huntly, an outdoor gym set for our kids. People that have kids that do nothing but walk the street with different colours on, their parents can tell them to go over there,’’ he says.
‘‘When a parent sends their child to me I’ll keep working with them, they’re part of something.’’
Pitman is also keen to share the credit with a host of other names, Raharaha, his ‘‘rocks’’ Cole, Jo Luke, Sandra Tipa, Sarah Davidson, his brother Viana Pitman, and sponsors who have stepped up like Built Smart director Philip Leather.
‘‘Without their help and guidance I don’t think I would have made it,’’ he says.
He also wants to thank the Huntly West Community Hub, the first group to help his Bots ‘‘before they had anything’’.
That’s the group he aims to give back to on March 13 at the ‘‘We Run the Night’’ event in Tauranga, where his Bots plan to take a leaf out of Raharaha’s book and complete the 10km event in gumboots.
They’ll be doing burpees along the way too, and Pitman is hoping he can make a bit of history.
‘‘Youngest kid to run 10k in gumboots doing burpees, [it might be] a Guinness Record.’’
Pitman hopes the group will expand in the future and take forward his mission to make positive change in the community.
‘‘I enjoy watching them succeed,’’ he says.
‘‘We just want the best for them.’’
DISABLED Kiwis say they’re being shut out from government decisions that affect them, and will protest for change at Parliament next month.
Te Hikoi o Te tumanako mo o whanau hauaa, or March of Hope for disabled Kiwis, will take place on March 23, as data revealed discrimination was rising against the disabled community.
Advocates will carry letters, videos and audio recordings from their peers who may not be able to participate due to mobility issues, to ensure all voices are heard.
Dr Huhana Hickey, a human rights lawyer with multiple sclerosis, said disabled people had been waiting decades for real change.
‘‘Everything that concerns us is being decided without us present, and we’re getting frustrated with being excluded,’’ she said.
‘‘Life is just getting worse and worse for a lot of disabled people, and we’ve had no real movement on improving our lives.’’
Disabled people continued to fare worse than non-disabled people, with increasing numbers experiencing loneliness and discrimination, Statistics NZ revealed earlier this month.
The government data agency also found disabled children and children in households where someone is disabled are more likely to be in poverty, according to the nine measures of child poverty.
The Green Party’s Golriz Ghahraman is the only selfidentified member of Parliament with a disability. She revealed she was living with multiple sclerosis in February 2020.
Hickey said she wanted disabled people to submit stories that illustrated the issues they faced in the form of videos, audio messages and written statements.
‘‘A lot of disabled people can’t get to parliament, it’s just not practical for them, but they still want their voice to be heard,’’ she said. ‘‘We will present their stories to the Minister of Disability Issues in the hope that she will acknowledge and respond to them.’’
Jonny Wilkinson is the chief executive of Tiaho Trust, a group providing services for disabled people in Whanga¯ rei. He has cerebral palsy and will not be at the protest, but was pleased he could submit a message.