Covid settings under review

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed ministers will review Covid settings and mask use but refuses to be drawn on whether the country will move into the ‘‘green’’ traffic light Covid setting in the coming weeks.

However, political pressure is mounting for the Government to loosen restrictions or drop the traffic light settings altogether, with case numbers and hospitalisations at their lowest since the Omicron wave starting ramping up in February. New Zealand has been in the ‘‘orange’’ traffic light setting since April.

Ardern said the disabled community had been consulted on a potential shift to green – which would do away with all restrictions except the need to self-isolate – and she was ‘‘very aware’’ of their concerns but no decisions had been made.

‘‘We are in the process of reviewing our settings and will be looking to update those as we look at the public health advice in the coming weeks,’’ she said.

‘‘No final decisions have been made and final advice is yet to be considered.’’

However, yesterday she appeared to hint a change was coming. ‘‘We have been living with the traffic light system for upwards to a year now. Now is the time for us to look at whether all those settings are fit for purpose.’’

ACT Party leader David Seymour said the Government should drop pandemic restrictions entirely. ‘‘Instead of tinkering with traffic light settings and changing the rules, let’s just dump them. The prime minister should ask if the rules are adding value, realise they are not and move on.’’

National Party Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop has called for the system to be scrapped altogether.

Teanau Tuiono, Green Party MP and Covid-19 spokesperson, said it was important for the Government to have a clear plan for when new variants emerged or when immunity waned over time. He feared the voices of disabled people, or the immuno-compromised, were being lost.

‘‘We are moving towards individual responsibility. We should get back to the team of 5 million.’’

The Government regularly reviews New Zealand’s position on the traffic light framework, with the next review expected on September 12. It looks at the pressure the virus is placing on the health system and current case numbers.

Hospitals have been under extreme pressure as a result of winter illness and understaffing. Doctors have warned the workforce is at risk of catastrophic collapse. But Covid hospital numbers have fallen. Covid-19 modeller Michael Plank said now was the right time to be asking questions about what settings New Zealand should be in. Masks could still play a role but it was ‘‘marginal’’, given the population’s immunity was controlling the virus at the moment. Blanket measures like mask use in retail and at workplaces was not playing as much of a role in controlling the virus. ‘‘At this point in time the majority of people are not susceptible to the virus, it is primary immunity causing the virus to ebb and flow,’’ Plank said. ‘‘Mask mandates will have a bit of an effect but it is likely to be a marginal one – but that is not to say we should do nothing.’’

Meanwhile, Astrid Koornneef, the director of the National Immunisation Programme, said a Pfizer application for children as young as 6 months old was being assessed ‘‘as a priority’’ but still had a number of hurdles to clear. If it was given provisional approval, ministers would still have to consider Ministry of Health advice and guidance from its Covid-19 vaccine and science technical advisory group about whether to use the vaccine. ‘‘In the meantime, Medsafe is working with Pfizer on their plans to submit data on variant vaccines.

‘‘This is expected to happen over the coming months,’’ she said.