NSW:

Exempting medical staff who are close contacts to cases from isolation so they can go to work if needed.

released at around 10pm on new years eve.

NSW daily numbers.

I said a couple of weeks back that these numbers (roughly 2 weeks after NSW's surge took off) would be very important to picking NZ's response.

I think it is clear from these numbers, that the let it rip approach for omicron is not the right play for NZ. Hospital load is too high.

Which leaves us in a tricky situation

- Limited tolerance for lock downs in a highly vaccinated society.

- No chance of keeping it out all winter.

- High chance of a community omicron outbreak in coming days / weeks.

Given the above, I think we will be going back to "Flatten the curve" as per NZ's plan before we decided to eliminate covid-19 in 2020. Just trying to slow stuff down to manage healthcare system load.

Feb - May are likely to suck. Live it up now, while you can....

Seem's probable that over the next several months, the majority of New Zealanders will catch Omicron (mostly mild breakthrough infections in the vaccinated).

In this light, I think it is important government to take steps to get much higher vaccination rates, such as introducing much more widespread vaccine mandates.

Current situation is going to see a disproportionate disease burden falling on groups with low vaccination rates, such as Maori. Not really an ethical outcome in my mind.

In a positive note, Auckland's largest vaccination center is back open again:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300489126/covid19-drivethrough-vaccination-centre-reopens-for-booster-shots-in-auckland

I assume resources were scrambled and the re-opening date was made earlier, in light of the much more urgent need for vaccination given the international situation with omicron. If so, great decision by those involved.

Although this article doesn't mention it, other major Auckland vaccination centers were allowing boosters at a 5 month spacing prior to the break, and it is likely this center is allowing 5 month spacings at the moment if anybody is in a hurry for a booster.

Scott3:

 

NSW:

Exempting medical staff who are close contacts to cases from isolation so they can go to work if needed.

released at around 10pm on new years eve.

 

 

Kind of crazy how we saw this in 1918.

Nurses during the Spanish Flu working while sick.

What I do not understand, is why fools are still talking about naysaying and fear mongering. When we are sending perhaps one in five medical workers into hospitals while infectious.

This is kind of a big deal, this is unprecedented.

I was a Nurse for twenty seven years. Sometimes when work was desperate you would go in with a cold. The alternative, of not having staff because all your nurses had colds at the same time, was worse than giving the patients colds.

There are profound down stream effects of this type of policy. For one thing some people who need hospital care, will be scared away from presenting to hospital due to the risk of infections (they will rise radically with these new policies a necessary evil).

We have seen this in New Zealand during the pandemic already, we have seen Ashleigh Bloomfield appeal to people to come to hospital when ED (emergency dept) presentations took a dive during the wild strain wave.

Wide spread hospital acquired infection in one of our major hospitals (I am nominating Middlemore here, I worked there and all the other Auckland hospitals, Middlemore is the best of the best) but yeah Middlemore will see the brunt of these types of policies.

We know that hospitals are full of people with comorbidities, introducing infected staff to that system is a nightmare scenario we previously in the time of Covid would never have dreamed of.

But here we are. Thank goodness we have these crazy high vaccine rates.

The real problem we will have in a surge is not the patients...it is the staff.

When Doctors and Nurses go to the cafeteria to eat....up to fifty or more people will be mask less to eat and drink, while two or three omicron infectious workers on a five day return time breath on them....

Do the maths....think about the problem without this fuzzy protective layer of magical it will be ok stop doom saying thinking.

Just look at this problem in the cold light of day and do your shopping, get your boosters to help hospitals out here.

I think all the talk of mild disease is dangerous given omicron is destroying all our protective protocols for test trace and isolate.

Sup:

When Doctors and Nurses go to the cafeteria to eat....up to fifty or more people will be mask less to eat and drink, while two or three omicron infectious workers on a five day return time breath on them....

The vaccination centre nearest to me closed down, so I'll need to plan how to get my booster now :(

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/127399025/covid19-market-stall-holders-start-new-event-ignoring-safety-rules

What's the deal with this bunch of idiots? And lol at the person taking the photo but hiding their own face, makes me think they know they're doing something wrong but don't want to get caught.

And major LOL at this one: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/lifestyle/2022/01/golden-bay-cafe-owner-opts-out-of-traffic-light-system-by-claiming-to-operate-under-common-law.html

"I don't feel the law should apply to me, so I'll just make up my own". More genius-ness (not) right there. I don't think I'd want anyone like that serving me food anyway.

quickymart:

 

The vaccination centre nearest to me closed down, so I'll need to plan how to get my booster now :(

 

Many of the vaccine centers are shut down for the summer, but a lot have closed permanently.

However there are now large numbers of GP & Pharmacy run vaccination centers, so for most people access should be pretty good.

Map is here for Auckland, but make sure you click through locations to check terms, opening hours & dates:

https://immunisation.northernregion.health.nz/getting-vaccinated/where-to-get-vaccinated/

Links for each regions Walk in / drive through vaccination centers nationwide are here:

https://covid19.govt.nz/covid-19-vaccines/how-to-get-a-covid-19-vaccination/get-your-covid-19-vaccination/

Sup:

 

This is kind of a big deal...

 

Yip. People who NSW authorities deem are at too high risk to go to the supermarket, working (often in close contact) with the venerable in healthcare settings.

Far from ideal.

But if you run out of staff due to so many being infected / close contacts, what else to you do? It is basically this, leave the hospital un-staffed, or put unqualified people into those roles...

Sup:

 

I think all the talk of mild disease is dangerous given omicron is destroying all our protective protocols for test trace and isolate.

 

Omicron is straddling a worrying middle ground in terms of severity.

Mild enough for infection to be only an inconvenience for the bulk of the population (especially those with two or thee doses of vaccine, and minimal underlying health issues), but serious enough to overload our health system.

NSW crossed 1000 in hospital:

I wouldn't read much into the reduced case numbers. Come's on the back of the lowest daily test volume since the 14th December.

Bung:

Sup:

 

When Doctors and Nurses go to the cafeteria to eat....up to fifty or more people will be mask less to eat and drink, while two or three omicron infectious workers on a five day return time breath on them....

 

So close the cafeterias. Staff either bring their own food or tag on to patient delivery and don't cluster in large numbers.

Hospitals need negative pressure high airflow staff rooms on every ward in future. Otherwise even when people eat on the shop floor in a tea and coffee alcove by the water cooler...with this airborne stuff, that hangs in the air  for up to an hour, you do not have a safe mask off space for drink and food....even if staff use a set aside area in separate time slots. 

N95 masks will help staff to patient transmission significantly...staff to staff transmission is really tricky.

Still, it is what it is  and thankfully Covid does allow for some infected people to continue working, because the alternative in far worse.

Scott3:

 

NSW crossed 1000 in hospital:

 

I wouldn't read much into the reduced case numbers. Come's on the back of the lowest daily test volume since the 14th December.

 

 

Sup:

 

 

 

Still, it is what it is  and thankfully Covid does allow for some infected people to continue working, because the alternative in far worse.

 

I think you have misunderstood the NSW Health Order. They are not permitting positive cases to work. They are targeting close contact health workers who are self-isolating with a return to work under strict protection rules.

Daily press release:

https://www.health.govt.nz/news-media/news-items/nearly-20000-vaccines-administered-over-two-days-105-community-cases-over-two-days-43-hospital-5-icu

105 cases over two days.

Location of new community cases over two days: Auckland (71), Waikato (7), Bay of Plenty (22), Lakes (4), Hawke’s Bay (1)*

33 (over two days) at the border.