2019 Novel Coronavirus Covid-19 Discussion

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#2635774 15-Jan-2021 09:01

mattwnz:

With the new more infectious strains, NZ may have to rethink using hotels for MIQ, as Australia are now rethinking it, as they their outbreaks haven't been able to be linked. Some think it could be spreading with air conditioning due to the new UK strain being more contagious.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-how-covid19-spread-through-brisbane-quarantine-hotel/57c7b838-4a9b-4212-94e3-b72eeca864ef

This is a major worry for NZ. I am just waiting for a local case of this new strain to be announced in the community, as I think it is a matter if when, not if. . Been watching a lot of what the UK is going through. It is like Groundhog day over there.

What has the UK situation got to do with NZ, they did everything wrong, so far we have done everything right to the best of what we could do to stop covid spreading. if the new strain gets into the community then what we have done in the past will work again , just may infect a few more people and spread a bit further

Common sense is not as common as you think.

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#2635786 15-Jan-2021 09:20

vexxxboy:

mattwnz:

With the new more infectious strains, NZ may have to rethink using hotels for MIQ, as Australia are now rethinking it, as they their outbreaks haven't been able to be linked. Some think it could be spreading with air conditioning due to the new UK strain being more contagious.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-how-covid19-spread-through-brisbane-quarantine-hotel/57c7b838-4a9b-4212-94e3-b72eeca864ef

This is a major worry for NZ. I am just waiting for a local case of this new strain to be announced in the community, as I think it is a matter if when, not if. . Been watching a lot of what the UK is going through. It is like Groundhog day over there.

What has the UK situation got to do with NZ, they did everything wrong, so far we have done everything right to the best of what we could do to stop covid spreading. if the new strain gets into the community then what we have done in the past will work again , just may infect a few more people and spread a bit further

I haven't got a good enough net connection to find and post links, but the suggestion from Aus/Brisbane is that transmission of the more infectious variant was from air circulation systems and that hotels are not suitable for MIQ, specialist facilities are needed.

Since the start of the pandemic I get the feeling that we've had luck on our side several times.

With an outbreak of the new variant with higher R0, exponential growth could be at a rate that once detected, it'll be impossible to ringfence without a hard national level 4 lockdown.

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#2635864 15-Jan-2021 10:15

"Pressure mounts on government to accelerate Covid vaccine roll-out"

New Zealand’s first Covid-19 jabs will be administered in April to border workers – that’s the plan and Chris Hipkins is sticking to it. That timetable, already one of the most protracted in the world, could be further delayed if health regulator Medsafe doesn’t grant approval for one of the vaccines purchased by government.

The Labour government’s decision to wait on the roll-out puts it at odds with the rest of parliament. The Greens, National and Act have asked the government to move quicker and begin a vaccination campaign sooner. Today the Māori Party added its voice, with co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer writing on The Spinoff today that she had “come to the view that we need to the follow the example of Australia, the European Union, Canada, Mexico and Chile and bring forward the vaccine schedule to start earlier than planned”. She added: “I am calling on the government to do everything they can … to start offering vaccinations to MIQ staff and high-risk groups as soon as possible. They need to be fully transparent and release the vaccination schedule.”

The calls come as the virus worsens by the day around the globe, with deepening lockdowns and unprecedented waves of deaths. Based on the government’s current plan, tens of millions of people abroad will already have been inoculated before any New Zealander.

Hipkins, the Covid-19 response minister, says the longer schedule is needed to allow the government to plan the largest vaccination campaign in the country’s history. Thousands of health professionals will be trained to deliver jabs, new ultra cold freezers will be installed and doses will be transported and ready to go in April. No vaccines have been approved yet either.

That cautious planning may have made sense before Christmas, but it now looks complacent as the global situation deteriorates, says Nick Wilson, a professor of public health at the University of Otago. In a world where one in 30 Londoners has the virus, and a steady stream of British-based New Zealanders are returning, the country’s border staff need vaccines much sooner, he told The Spinoff.

{snip}

Unlike drug regulators in North America and Europe who gave emergency approval to vaccines, New Zealand will go through a quick process, but will base it on the outcome of more clinical trials.

“They are doing that because the consequences of not vaccinating people quickly are huge for them. We don’t have that same pressure in New Zealand,” said the minister when asked why other countries have acted faster.

“When we start the vaccination campaign is, to some extent, less important than when we finish it,” he concluded.

There is no emergency use provision in New Zealand law that allows Medsafe to sidestep its approval process, according to the health ministry. Other than a full approval pathway that can take years, there is a provisional approval process which allows for certain drugs or vaccines to be approved when less than full data is available. The ministry said in an email that it expects it will need to provide provisional approval for Covid-19 vaccines.

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wellygary

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#2635866 15-Jan-2021 10:24

The real pressure will come once Australia start vaccination of MIQ/border workers with the Pfizer Vaccine...

To get to that point the TGA in Australia will have approved it through their regular process, and questions will be asked of Medsafe as to why they are still dragging the chain....

Buster

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#2635869 15-Jan-2021 10:35

I haven't seen any surveys but I would hope that most NZers want vaccination done as 'right as possible' not 'as fast as possible'.

vexxxboy

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#2635899 15-Jan-2021 11:36

Fred99:

[

What has the UK situation got to do with NZ, they did everything wrong, so far we have done everything right to the best of what we could do to stop covid spreading. if the new strain gets into the community then what we have done in the past will work again , just may infect a few more people and spread a bit further

I haven't got a good enough net connection to find and post links, but the suggestion from Aus/Brisbane is that transmission of the more infectious variant was from air circulation systems and that hotels are not suitable for MIQ, specialist facilities are needed.

Since the start of the pandemic I get the feeling that we've had luck on our side several times.

With an outbreak of the new variant with higher R0, exponential growth could be at a rate that once detected, it'll be impossible to ringfence without a hard national level 4 lockdown.

By what i have read Australian isolation hotels are not on the same level as the ones in NZ, i cant see anywhere where people are moved to a Quarantine hotel from an isolation hotel if they test positive and now Australia is thinking instead of hotels , people can isolate at home. it's no wonder they are having problems.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

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#2635951 15-Jan-2021 11:48

“When we start the vaccination campaign is, to some extent, less important than when we finish it,” he concluded.

We're planning to finish it by 21Q1 - 7 months after Australia, and 6-8 months later than many other western countries.

wellygary

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#2636006 15-Jan-2021 13:15

Cooks' "half bubble" to beging next Thursday (21st)

"The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health."

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/cook-islanders-resume-travel-new-zealand

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#2636018 15-Jan-2021 13:38

wellygary:

Cooks' "half bubble" to beging next Thursday (21st)

"The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health."

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/cook-islanders-resume-travel-new-zealand

Excellent news.

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freitasm

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#2636115 15-Jan-2021 14:40

Press release:

The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health.

“Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID free status, and the implementation of strict health and border protocols we are now in the position to resume quarantine-free travel for passengers from the Cook Islands into New Zealand,” Jacinda Ardern said.

Prime Minister Mark Brown said, “Cook Islanders look forward to quarantine-free entry to New Zealand to enable access to essential services, in the lead up to resuming free movement of people in both directions. I welcome the support of and joint effort with the New Zealand Government to institute this safe travel corridor which will enable essential health, education, economic and social connections for the first time in many months for our people.”

“Both countries continue to take a very careful approach to managing our borders and preventing the spread of COVID remains our paramount concern. As such strict protocols will be in place including pre-departure health requirements and separation from other travellers at Auckland International Airport,” Jacinda Ardern said. “New Zealand and the Cook Islands are united in our commitment to protect our communities from COVID-19.”

Today’s announcement does not change the criteria for entry into the Cook Islands which is limited to Cook Islanders and current holders of Cook Islands work and residence permits who meet Cook Islands health entry requirements.

“These arrangements do not apply to New Zealanders wishing to travel to the Cook Islands. We said we would take a phased approach to resuming two-way travel and will do so only once all safety protocols can be met,” Jacinda Ardern said.

Officials of both governments are committed to working towards ensuring all safety protocols and response capabilities are in place for the resumption of two-way quarantine free travel between the two countries within the first quarter of 2021.

Further information on safety protocols for travel

To be eligible to enter New Zealand, people in the Cook Islands must meet particular conditions, including:

not having been overseas outside of the Cook Islands or New Zealand in the past 14 days;
not having had contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case within the past 14 days;
having maintained physical distancing (to the greatest extent practicable) from any person, at the airport at which they arrive, who did not arrive from the Cook Islands;
having worn a face covering while in the airport at which they arrived in New Zealand; and
there are no reasonable grounds (as determined by a suitably qualified health practitioner) to suspect that the person may have COVID-19. That might include, among other things:

having had contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case within the past 14 days;
having any COVID-19 symptoms; and
be awaiting a COVID-19 test result
New Zealand public health officials will be undertaking random temperature checks of passengers on all flights arriving from the Cook Islands into New Zealand.

Auckland Airport will use a streamlined Safe Travel Path to process passengers arriving quarantine-free from the Cook Islands. The Safe Travel Path creates separation from other arriving passengers by giving Cook Islands flights exclusive use of the international terminal for arrivals processing – with no other arriving flights within 90 minutes either side of the scheduled arrival time.

The Safe Travel Path is created by:

Using flight scheduling to ensure no other international flights arrive within 90 minutes either side of an arriving Cook Islands flight
Rigorous cleaning of terminal areas along the Safe Travel Path between flights
Escorting passengers off Cook Islands flights when terminal cleaning has concluded and following an arrivals path through the terminal marked out with stanchions and barriers
Dedicated border processing lanes and facilities, which will be blocked off when not in use by Cook Islands passengers
A baggage reclaim carousel and baggage trolleys used exclusively by travellers arriving quarantine-free from the Cook Islands. When not in use the carousel will be blocked off and trolleys will be sanitised and stored ready for the next Cook Islands flight
A double-layer physical barrier in the public area of the arrivals hall blocking access to the terminal exit path used by travellers going into managed isolation or quarantine.
Before returning to the Cook Islands passengers will need to undertake a COVID-19 test within 96 hours of their flight departing, which must be negative and complete the exit health clearance process at Auckland International Airport.

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mattwnz

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#2636122 15-Jan-2021 14:51

vexxxboy:

mattwnz:

With the new more infectious strains, NZ may have to rethink using hotels for MIQ, as Australia are now rethinking it, as they their outbreaks haven't been able to be linked. Some think it could be spreading with air conditioning due to the new UK strain being more contagious.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-how-covid19-spread-through-brisbane-quarantine-hotel/57c7b838-4a9b-4212-94e3-b72eeca864ef

This is a major worry for NZ. I am just waiting for a local case of this new strain to be announced in the community, as I think it is a matter if when, not if. . Been watching a lot of what the UK is going through. It is like Groundhog day over there.

What has the UK situation got to do with NZ, they did everything wrong, so far we have done everything right to the best of what we could do to stop covid spreading. if the new strain gets into the community then what we have done in the past will work again , just may infect a few more people and spread a bit further

I am talking about the UK strain, which is already in NZ.

We don't live in a goldfish bowl, what is happening overseas affects us in NZ, to in how we manage these new strains. We don't know if what we have done in the past will work with this new more infectious strain., . This is why in Australia they went straight into lockdown in one of the states, to control it, which they probably wouldn't have done if it wasn't the new strain. One of the last outbreaks of the virus, we didn't go into any lockdown, and it was managed with contact tracing,

But I think they have already said that if the new strain gets out into the community, it will likely mean a lockdown and for longer as it has the potential for explosive growth eg https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-new-uk-strain-would-need-longer-level-4-lockdown-if-outbreak-here-scientist/F3XD75ENIP72K5BD6VADIWMPM4/ So it isn't going to be the same, it is potentially going to be treated far more seriously. Then we have this new Brazil strain which also looks bad.

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mattwnz

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#2636123 15-Jan-2021 14:58

tdgeek:

mattwnz:

With the new more infectious strains, NZ may have to rethink using hotels for MIQ, as Australia are now rethinking it, as they their outbreaks haven't been able to be linked. Some think it could be spreading with air conditioning due to the new UK strain being more contagious.

Where to? NZ article mentions Ohakea or at strict supervision at home. Can Ohakea support 6000 MIQ people? There is no air conditioning there?

They could always turn the air-conditioning off, but that could be worse in summer, as I don't think windows open in some of these hotels. It is a very fluid situation, so NZ will need to adapt, and hope they adapt fast enough.. Could mean reducing the flow of people returning, and testing ventilation systems to check the risk until they come up with a solution. It appears these new strains could become the main ones turning up in NZ.

I do remember with the very first case of Covid in NZ early 2020, there was a lot of effort by the media to show that the treatment of that patient in an Auckland hospital, was in a negative air pressure room, and I understand they said that it used an isolated air conditioning system. So there was no risk to other patients on the hospital. So it has been known for some time of the airborne risks.

chatterbox

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#2636135 15-Jan-2021 15:22

vexxxboy:
Fred99:

[

What has the UK situation got to do with NZ, they did everything wrong, so far we have done everything right to the best of what we could do to stop covid spreading. if the new strain gets into the community then what we have done in the past will work again , just may infect a few more people and spread a bit further

I haven't got a good enough net connection to find and post links, but the suggestion from Aus/Brisbane is that transmission of the more infectious variant was from air circulation systems and that hotels are not suitable for MIQ, specialist facilities are needed.

Since the start of the pandemic I get the feeling that we've had luck on our side several times.

With an outbreak of the new variant with higher R0, exponential growth could be at a rate that once detected, it'll be impossible to ringfence without a hard national level 4 lockdown.

By what i have read Australian isolation hotels are not on the same level as the ones in NZ, i cant see anywhere where people are moved to a Quarantine hotel from an isolation hotel if they test positive and now Australia is thinking instead of hotels , people can isolate at home. it's no wonder they are having problems.

Queensland sends their quarantine positives to a dedicated hospital.
NSW has health hotels. The other quarantine hotels are run mainly by police.
NT uses Hospital also.

They’re all doing it differently but guarantee the positives are shipped out from the quarantine hotels to isolation hotels or hospitals. Sometimes a different floor was used.

Australia also don’t really allow fresh air breaks. NZ does but with people mixing from Australia, UK, US etc that doesn’t seem safe even if they have to wear a mask outside. With these new variants it seems like a bad idea having them in the same hotel.

When they have outbreaks in the community yes people can isolate at home but they are checked on. It’s been largely successful. Don’t think Jet Park would have coped with a similar outbreak to the Northern Beaches.

Just to clarify, quarantine is when you don’t have the disease but you’re separated from the community because you’re a close contact or a well returned traveller. These are the majority of NZs hotels. Once you test positive or if you’re suspected of having the disease eg test negative but have symptoms and it’s likely COVID you go to an isolation facility eg Jet Park

There’s been a large overhaul of hotel quarantine in Australia since the Adelaide outbreak and they’re halving returned travellers for a month to tighten Hq more and see what these new strains mean. They’re also doing daily testing or rolling it out to all border worker groups. NSW wasn’t completely rolled out when their HQ cleaner tested positive or the Northern Beaches, but they’ve started.

wellygary

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#2636136 15-Jan-2021 15:26

tdgeek:

mattwnz:

With the new more infectious strains, NZ may have to rethink using hotels for MIQ, as Australia are now rethinking it, as they their outbreaks haven't been able to be linked. Some think it could be spreading with air conditioning due to the new UK strain being more contagious.

Where to? NZ article mentions Ohakea or at strict supervision at home. Can Ohakea support 6000 MIQ people? There is no air conditioning there?

NSW quarantine is going nowhere, and highlights the staffing requirement as a huge reason you can't just pick this up and dump it in the middle of nowhere, - even if you magically had accommodation for 5500 MIQers at Ohakea ....

and widespread vaccination will arrive before any shovels would be hitting the ground to build anything.....

"NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said it would not be feasible for the 3500 staff working in the state's hotel quarantine system to be moved to regional camps.

"NSW certainly doesn't see the benefit for us in following that path," he told reporters in Sydney.

"On the basis of less than, I think it's three incidences now over the last year, it would not be logical for us to move that arrangement out of Sydney."

https://au.news.yahoo.com/chief-health-officer-eases-vaccine-concern-163040035--spt.html

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#2636155 15-Jan-2021 16:28

COVID Tracer scans 1/5 of September - last Monday saw 515,759 scans, down from the high of 2.5 million on September 4.

Keep scanning people https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/123944354/covid19-habits-to-adopt-to-make-scanning-the-covid-tracer-app-quick-and-easy

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