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Jacinda Ardern announces changes to Covid rules. (Robert Kitchin/Getty Images)
Jacinda Ardern announces changes to Covid rules. (Robert Kitchin/Getty Images)

The BulletinMarch 24, 2022

The new normal

Jacinda Ardern announces changes to Covid rules. (Robert Kitchin/Getty Images)
Jacinda Ardern announces changes to Covid rules. (Robert Kitchin/Getty Images)

New Zealand is aiming for a sense of normalcy beyond the omicron peak with a set of looser Covid restrictions,  Justin Giovannetti writes in The Bulletin.

Most Covid-19 rules scrapped as government adopts a pared-down traffic light system.

Jacinda Ardern unveiled loosened Covid restrictions yesterday that will roll out over the coming days. From Saturday morning, QR code scanning and outdoor gathering limits are gone—but keep the app for bluetooth. In early April, vaccine passes and most mandates end. The Spinoff’s live updates has summarised the announcement and the simplified traffic light system. Continued wearing of face masks indoors will do most of the heavy lifting for the Covid response going forward, along with boosters for the New Zealanders who haven’t had them yet. The prime minister said that while the country’s Covid response has been successful, it was “bloody hard”.

Some vaccine mandates will remain, companies can choose to require vaccination.

Health workers, people in aged care homes, Corrections staff, as well as border workers will remain covered by the government’s vaccine mandate. Teachers, soldiers and police will no longer need to get two doses by default. Those in the hospitality industry covered by mandates will also no longer need vaccines from April 5. 1News has looked more closely at the mandate decision and what it means for workers. A public health group chaired by Sir David Skegg advised the government that certain vaccine mandates could be dropped after omicron’s peak, which is why the mandates will remain until April. RNZ reports that schools have been told they can continue to require vaccines.

The reaction has been mixed, with disappointment at both ends of the spectrum.

Hospitality businesses told RNZ that the government is being too slow and didn’t go far enough. They said they want a move to the orange setting, along with the end to physical distancing rules. The government will review the traffic light setting on April 4. Retail NZ told Stuff it would like the mask rules revoked and worries staff will face aggression. National supported the move, but said the government should provide a timeline for dropping all mandates. Act said Ardern was too timid and the traffic light system should be abolished. The Green Party opposes the new rules and say they put vulnerable communities at risk. The prime minister acknowledged that Māori advisors were uncomfortable with the changes, 1News reports.

Disappointment from Siouxsie Wiles.

Over 500,000 New Zealanders have been confirmed Covid cases, but the actual number could be above 1.7 million according to modelling. The vast majority have occurred over the past month. Omicron has been an incredibly infectious virus and elimination now seems “impossible” anywhere in the world, according to associate health minister Ayesha Verrall. There will be future waves of Covid-19 and all of the measures being scrapped now could return. Here’s what Siouxsie Wiles told the Science Media Centre about yesterday’s changes:

“I’m relieved that not all of our protections have been dropped. The data from overseas is really clear—those countries that have dropped restrictions as their omicron wave was subsiding are now experiencing another wave. For that reason, I am relieved to see masks stay…

But, I am disappointed with parts of the announcement. There was a lot of talk of things being safer now Auckland is coming out of this omicron peak, but safer for who? Certainly not everybody. We know that being boosted helps reduce transmission of this virus so upgrading vaccine passes to include the booster would have helped keep indoor environments safer for the more at-risk members of our community. Similarly, removing vaccine mandates for people working with our children who can’t yet be vaccinated makes me very nervous.”

The Spinoff’s Covid data tracker has the latest figures.

Keep going!
With fast rising prices and slow wage growth, many are falling behind. (Getty Images)
With fast rising prices and slow wage growth, many are falling behind. (Getty Images)

The BulletinMarch 23, 2022

Doing it tough

With fast rising prices and slow wage growth, many are falling behind. (Getty Images)
With fast rising prices and slow wage growth, many are falling behind. (Getty Images)

The country’s attention is shifting from the pandemic to New Zealanders who are falling behind,  Justin Giovannetti writes in The Bulletin.

Preparing for life after Covid in New Zealand.

The prime minister will announce a major loosening of Covid restrictions later today, with the use of vaccine mandates and passes expected to end in the coming weeks. Mask use is likely to continue. Along with most Covid rules falling away, two years of border restrictions are nearly over. The first planeload of tourists will arrive in three weeks. Replacing the pandemic in the minds of New Zealanders is the economy. The oil shock caused by the war in Ukraine and ongoing global disruptions have pushed economic worries off the business pages to the top of the pile. Inflation was the country’s top concern last month, followed by housing, according to Ipsos.

Dealing with the crisis of crises in Aotearoa.

It seems unlikely voters will give Jacinda Ardern’s Labour government a third mandate next year based solely on its successful Covid response. Instead, National and Act have capitalised as parliament has shifted away from the pandemic to concerns around the economy. Despite a surge in the polls for the right-leaning parties, their preferred solution of tax cuts might not entice centrist New Zealanders come voting day. New Zealand has one of the lowest tax regimes in the developed world, according to the OECD. Instead, success post-Covid could depend on how the country’s leaders propose to deal with an ongoing crisis of crises. The word crisis is mentioned nearly daily in this newsletter, for the cost of living, housing, climate, mental health, literacy and more.

Nearly all those issues have worsened considerably in the past two years.

Consumer confidence in Aotearoa has now fallen to its lowest level since the 2008 global financial crisis. Stuff reports that households are reporting that their finances have deteriorated over the past year and worries are mounting over the coming months. The price of food and petrol has climbed far more quickly than incomes. For those on fixed incomes, the prospects could be dire in the coming months. Global supply chains haven’t been restored after two years of disruptions and China is now battling its worst outbreak of Covid-19. According to Reuters, the queues of ships outside major Chinese ports are growing longer and analysts warn of a shock to the price of goods in the coming months.

The government’s budget in May will have to deal with all of this.

Writing in the NZ Herald (paywalled), Simon Wilson has laid out the seven things he’d like to see in Grant Robertson’s budget. This is a time for big solutions to big problems that have been growing for a generation, he argues. “The effect of 30 years of underspending on core services and infrastructure. The deep damage to health services, transport, housing, education, water, crime, and they’re just the things that hog the headlines, has been laid bare,” Wilson explains. Robertson’s budget could be the opening shot in Labour’s re-election campaign.

Looking for another idea to deal with the cost of living?

Bryce Edwards asks whether this is the time for the government to introduce public dental care. It would be an expensive undertaking, but free dental care would have an immediate impact on the wellbeing of struggling New Zealanders and their families. They generally don’t get much back from tax cuts. It would also be a memorable project for a government struggling to find a transformational purpose.

The prime minister’s “beyond omicron” speech is at 11am today.