Claire Trevett’s Beehive diaries
Good news for Wiggles fans, including one in high places, there is a dangerous liaison in quarantine, and which MP has a new pup? Wiggle-rooms found
Authorities have bowed to public demand (well, Simon Bridges’ demand) and granted the Wiggles space in MIQ for their upcoming tour in March. The Wiggle-rooms will be from those set aside for contingencies, rather than the rooms returning New Zealanders can book in.
However, Bridges may not be able to take all the credit.
It’s understood the Wiggles are also firm favourites of Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins’ children. Hipkins went to their Wellington concert in June 2019. Bridges’ favourite song is Skinnymarink.
Presumably Hipkins’ favourite song is the Handwashing Song.
Dangerous liaisons
When Hipkins took the job of Covid-19 Response Minister it’s fair to say he did not think he would end up answering questions about love trysts in quarantine.
It was a red-faced Hipkins who had to answer questions about reports of a liaison of some type between an MIQ worker and someone staying in quarantine.
Hipkins shared some details: notes had been passed, including some on face masks, and a bottle of wine was taken into the room for a 20-minute encounter.
However, he had not pushed for details of what went on in that 20 minutes, saying he did not need a blow-by-blow account of events: the breach was clear without the details.
Health boss Dr Ashley Bloomfield was in the happy position of dodging any questions on it, given he had learned about the situation on his way into the press conference.
Dr Verrall, at your service for Idiot’s Guides
Beehive Diaries asked a staffer in Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall’s office what “CT’ [Cycle Tracking] was after much use of the term in relation to the test results of the latest two Covid-19 cases in Orewa.
For the laypeople, the PCR tests for the virus involve amplifying a sample to check for the virus’ DNA. Each amplification is one cycle.
The earlier the virus appears in the cycles of amplification, the stronger it is. If someone has a low CT, it has not taken much amplification to find it. That means the person has a lot of the virus in them, and is likely to be more infectious.
If there is a high CT, there are only traces of the virus. It could mean the virus is historical, or the person is at either the very start or the tail-end of an infection.
Whether it is historical is determined from serology tests (antibodies) and the person’s case history, such as the dates they had symptoms.
The Big Squeeze
Quarters in Parliament House have become a bit squeezed after MPs and staff were re-located from Bowen House next door over summer.
The move has meant some staff have been moved off-site, some MPs are sharing offices and larger function rooms have been rebuilt into office spaces instead.
It has resulted in something of a Hobbiton for some MPs: the 1.94cm tall Parliamentary Under-Secretary MP Rino Tirikatene discovered his head touches the top of his newly created office door, which is about 20cm lower than the other doors around Parliament House.
Hatched
To National MP Simon Bridges and his family, a wee Maltese-Chihuahua cross puppy named Jasper.
The Bridges’ last family dog, Tilly, died late last year.