New Zealand Covid chief ’s leaving party ruined by virus

THE latest casualty of New Zealand’s Covid outbreak is a farewell party for the country’s director-general of health, who was responsible for leading its pandemic response.

Dr Ashley Bloomfield, who became a national celebrity for fronting daily press conferences about the pandemic, announced his resignation from the job in April, promising colleagues a sendoff with catering, drinks and karaoke.

His plans were ruined, however, by increasing omicron cases that threaten to send New Zealand back to the days when the government tried to keep the virus at bay with some of the world’s most draconian restrictions.

When asked at a press conference if there was a continued need for the public to limit socialising, Dr Bloomfield responded saying a large, formal event planned for his own departure had now been called off by his ministry.

He added: “We’ve now gone for a much smaller, modest event with no food and drink.

“Everyone will be wearing masks and the large number of people that were invited will be joining by Zoom.”

The more muted send off will bear little resemblance to earlier plans which, he announced in April, might have included a karaoke rendition of Friday I’m in Love by The Cure.

“We’ll do that later in the year,” he revealed in his latest ministerial update.

But with 10,424 community cases just announced and another 21 deaths, Dr Bloomfield may have to wait even longer for his leaving party.

New Zealand ended its lockdown rules in December, accepting it would be preferable to live with the virus so that people and businesses could function more normally. Residents and visitors are still urged to wear masks in poorly ventilated areas or where it is hard to distance from others.

From the end of July, the international border will re-open to all tourists and visa holders, ending a strict isolation policy which involved more than two years of restrictions on many overseas travellers.