COVID-19 update
The Government has announced an increase to the number of people who can gather together at Alert Level 2. From 12 noon Friday 29 May, gatherings can be held with up to 100 people. The new limit applies to gatherings at your home, events outside of home and public venues – including church services, weddings and funerals and tangihanga.
When holding a gathering, play it safe – maintain hygiene standards and meet existing record-keeping requirements for contact tracing.
Community sports will also be able to operate easier, and sporting codes will be working on further guidance with Sport NZ.
Ngāti Whātua need our support
Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua have a pending environmental disaster with Auckland Council looking to transfer millions of tonnes of waste from the city into their local community that will impact their waterways and ultimately our pātaka kai – Kaipara Moana.
Ngāti Whātua is calling for tautoko across whānau, hapū, marae and Iwi for protection against ill considered resource consent activity by local government.
We have set up a national petition please whānau sign here:
https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/protect-our-kaipara-moana
We will continue to update whānau and provide submission guidelines and information here:
https://www.ngatiwhatua.iwi.nz/dome-valley
Watch the latest Te Karere interview here: https://bit.ly/2zkISRa
Community Testing Centres and Iwi Mobile Clinics
Since the beginning of May more than 4,000 people have been tested for COVID-19 in Northland, and all of these tests have been negative. The last positive test for Northland was taken on 15 April.
From today, Monday 25 May, all testing done in Northland will be according to the Ministry of Health case definition which is:
Any acute respiratory infection with at least one of the following symptoms: cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, coryza (a head cold), anosmia (loss sense of smell) with or without fever.
Testing of people without symptoms of COVID-19 is not recommended by the Ministry of Health except in specific circumstances and as requested by a Medical Officer of Health.
Asymptomatic testing across Northland will stop today, this includes at Community Based Testing Centres and by Māori Health Providers.
This is because:
• the risk of COVID-19 in New Zealand is now very low
• there is no evidence of community transmission from the testing in recent weeks
• border restrictions remain in place
• Northland DHB and the public health team are equipped to respond quickly and thoroughly if new cases are detected
• Northland cases of covid19 and their close contacts cooperated fully with isolation and quarantine requirements.
This advice may change in the future if the situation changes. It will remain very important for people with symptoms of COVID-19 to be tested. With peoples movements being less restricted in Level 2, and with the beginning of winter, we expect there to be an increase in respiratory illness like colds, chest infections, and sore throats. The only way to tell if these are caused by COVID-19 or another virus or bacteria is for people to be tested.
To find out where a testing centre is go to this website page – https://www.northlanddhb.org.nz/home/covid-19/covid-19-coronavirus-community-testing-centres/
Concerns govt lacks vision for Māori economy post Covi
Before Covid-19, the Māori economy was worth more than $50 billion. But the pandemic has hurt many Māori businesses and now there are concerns that the government should have a plan to support them by now. More on this article here.
New payment to support Kiwis through COVID
Ngāti Hine Release Marae Guidelines Toolkit
A lifetime of anxiety and vigilance
Samoan Language Week
Celebrate Samoa Language week on Sunday, 24 May 2020 – Saturday, 30 May 2020. The theme for Samoa Language week is \’Tapena sou ōso mo lau malaga\’ which in English means \’Prepare yourself a gift for your travels\’. Learn more about Samoa Language Week.