PM boosts vax centre work
There were selfies, smiles and some tears when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visited the Tamaiti Whāngai Covid-19 Vaccination Centre in Lower Hutt on Thursday.
Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Wainuiomata and Eastbourne are the last places in Wellington region to see 90 per cent of Māori receive both their Covid-19 vaccinations.
They were teetering on the edge of reaching that target on Thursday morning.
Wellington and the Kāpiti Coast up to Waikanae hit the milestone for Māori vaccinations earlier this month.
Labour MPs Chris Hipkins, Ginny Andersen and Rino Tirikatene – all of whom represent parts of the Hutt – joined Ardern on a tour of the centre, having been earlier welcomed at Waiwhetū Marae.
People waiting to be vaccinated took selfies with Ardern in the background.
Clinical lead Josephine Rutherford told Ardern whole families were coming to the clinic for their booster dose and to get their eligible children vaccinated.
‘‘Most people that come in are quite keen and are ready to have it done,’’ she said.
Ardern later said that 4 million first doses had been administered nationwide.
The prime minister has received a negative Covid-19 test after coming into contact with a case. She will continue to isolate until tomorrow, a full 10 days after she was exposed to the virus on a Kerikeri to Auckland flight, alongside Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro.
The governor-general also returned a negative test after taking a test on Saturday.
A spokesperson for Kiro said she had received a negative test result from a test taken on Saturday but had been advised to take another ‘‘day 8’’ test.
She was still awaiting the result of that test.
Ardern took her test on
Sunday, meaning she has already had a ‘‘day 8’’ test. While Ardern was awaiting the result from her test, her chief press secretary, Andrew Campbell, who was on the same flight, returned a negative test.
Ardern had entered selfisolation in line with Ministry of Health advice.
In a statement on Sunday, Ardern’s office said she remained asymptomatic and continued to feel well.
The event took place on Saturday, January 22, during flight NZ8273 from Kerikeri to Auckland. Flight NZ8273 was added to the Ministry of Health website as a location of interest on Saturday.
The entire Wellington region now has fire restrictions.
Fire and Emergency NZ extended the restrictions, which previously applied only toWairarapa, to the rest of the region on Wednesday.
Under the restrictions, anyone planning on lighting an open fire will require a permit.
Wairarapa has been in a restricted fire season since January 19. For Wellington City, Kāpiti, and the Hutt Valley, this is the start of fire restrictions for the year.
People lighting fires should check the weather conditions first, said Nick Pyatt, the Wellington district manager of Fire and Emergency NZ.
He said they decided to broaden the restriction because it has become very dry, leading to a very high-risk fire environment.
‘‘If it’s hot and windy, do not light a fire, even if you have a permit. If you have a fire permit, follow the conditions listed on your permit.’’
Anyone who sees signs of smoke should dial 111.
To get a fire permit, visit checkitsalright.nz.