Covid Watch

School's back tomorrow, albeit in front of a screen in Auckland, Northland and parts of the Waikato.
One school principal says studying from home is not the end of the world for kids and there are some lessons to be learned for the future.
Albany Senior High School principal Claire Amos says we should finally close the digital divide, ditch exams as national events and keep learning flexible post-lockdown.
Amos joined Francesca Rudkin.
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GPs are bracing themselves for a surge of Covid-patients.
The Government's unveiled a plan, which would see those infected isolating at home instead of in quarantine.
Health Minister Andrew Little says patients would be monitored by GPs and nurses, and the plan would be rolled out when vaccination rates are higher.
The Royal New Zealand College of GPs President, Samantha Murton told Francesca Rudkin it's not going to be easy for the workforce.
“It’s gonna be quite tricky, keeping that balance right of providing all the healthcare we can and looking after people in their own home and protecting the people that are around them.”
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People turned out in masses to get vaccinated for Super Saturday.
129,995 vaccines were given as of 10 pm last night.
The vaccination rate nationwide is now at 85 per cent and 89 per cent in Auckland.
Health Minister Andrew Little told Francesca Rudkin there were roughly 39,000 first jabs yesterday.
"Once we get the first jab and you're on the record, then we can chase you up and follow you up for your second jab."
Little said that Auckland's vaccination rate will be key for tomorrow's Cabinet and eventually loosening restrictions.
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So we all know vaccination is the key to moving forward, to saving summer, to transitioning to living with Covid, but it has sort of started to feel like we’re a bit stalled, hadn’t it?
So when Super Shot Saturday was announced, I was like "OK?", and when the vaxathon was announced, I have to admit, I thought it sounded a bit maff. How's that gonna work? was what was going through my head.
But you know what, I was pretty impressed with what unfolded yesterday. Thursday’s vaccination rate was around the 68,000 mark and Friday’s just over 69,000, so I was confident that we would hit the 100,000 mark. But to get to almost 130,000, it just felt good right?
It feels like we’ve got some momentum again, the momentum that Auckland needs to hit the 90 per cent first dose target in the next five days, fingers crossed. And congratulations to Canterbury who had the highest single DHB numbers of just over 17,000.
The effort around the country by frontline health workers, the volunteers and the businesses who encouraged New Zealanders to walk on up or drive in and get vaccinated was really impressive, and that includes all of those who have been working hard to vaccinate those in hard to reach places.
I know it sounds a bit trite, but Kiwis looking after Kiwis is a special thing that we do and yesterday, so many did it brilliantly, so thank you so much.
And then there’s the athon. So while it wasn't the athon that we’re used to, Paddy Gower’s dancing TikTok did remind us of the old days. In fact, I think he’s created a whole new trend to do the anti-Tiktok dance dance. See if that takes off.
I have a little bit of experience in putting live television together, enough to understand the enormity of producing a vaxathon in a short period of time, so while it was a little clunky and awkward at times, everybody came to the party with the best intentions.
The show was aimed at younger people, and I just took that from the general age of the presenters and the music which played constantly in the background. I’m sure that there were a few regular daytime watchers who flicked on the TV and went “what?”
But look, overall, the vaxathon was an energetic and inclusive celebration of what was happening around the country, often from areas keen to lift their vaccination rates, so congratulations to all those warm, positive hosts who beamed in from around the country and the studio in Wellington.
Gonna be honest, I was buoyed by Super Shot Saturday. If you live in Auckland, you’re more than likely getting your head around how life is gonna look from now on. You might’ve received information from your kid’s school on how schooling is gonna look, been told "no jab, no job", or received a survey from your workplace offering prizes to share your vaccination status.
A mask is always at arm’s reach. Arranging for the kids to meet a friend in the park, I’ve noticed texts from the other parents generally starts with offering the information: we’re double vaxxed. This is our new life.
While there are still areas of concern and while we strive for the highest possible rate of vaccination, Super Saturday served its purpose. It’s another step towards calmly getting on with living with Covid, removing restrictions and getting people back into business, and hopefully saving our summer.

I’ll be frank.
If you’re due for one of your vaccination shots and you PAY for a coffee today...well, sorry, but you’re an idiot. Because no matter where you are, in what corner of this wonderful country of ours, I can pretty much guarantee you that a vaccination centre near your place is giving away free coffees to everyone who gets the jab today.
Call it double shots for double shots! I’ve gone through the plans in every single DHB in the entire country and my main takeaway for Super Saturday is that we are in for some serious caffeine crashes.
If you need something to compliment your Java Jive on this most Kiwi of occasions, the good news is New Zealand has the smorgasboard to match.
Cromwell Pharmacy has home baking. Life Pharmacy on Manners Street has free donuts. Newton School has Halal sausages and in Rotorua they’ve cooked up hangi. Get the pfizer, see a geyser!
Actually, one of the things I enjoyed while researching all of the Super Saturday events was playing ‘match the free food to the DHB'.
Guess where you’d find the vaccination centre offering a free ‘big block’ of Whittakers chocolate. And be advised, they actually go out of their way on the District Health Board website to clarify it’s definitely a big block of Whittakers. That’s in Lower Hutt.
Where would you get delicious bacon and egg fry bread? Moturoa in Taranaki.
What Rotary Club is putting on coffee and a slice? No word if it’s ginger or caramel or tan, but you know it’s gonna be delicious coming from the fine bakers in Whanganui.
Free icecream? Greymouth, baby.
Here you go... guess this one: Where can you get a vaccine and a free glass of refreshing, lightly-carbonated, gut-friendly kombucha? That’s at Wellworks Pharmacy in Wellington, of course.
You get vaccinated on an Air New Zealand jet. There are competitions galore. If you’re in Hawkes Bay you can win an iPhone. If you’re in up North in Whananaki you can win a stay at a fancy resort. If you’re in Richmond you can get free tickets to the speedway. In Dunedin if you get vaccinated, you can win a wax treatment. Increased viral resistance AND a pubic spruce! Two birds with one stone.
It’s easy to be facetious about all of this stuff. It’s easy to mock Super Saturday and the Vaxathon. Maybe it feels a bit silly to you. I must admit, the pragmatist in me wonders how many people who haven’t had a jab yet are going to be won over by a vaxathon. And after all, it’s the first jabs that matter most in the battle for vaccination.
But today, on Day-whatever-it-is of lockdown in Auckland, I’ve made a conscious decision to be positive. Super Saturday is about more than just jabs. It’s bigger than that. It’s an occasion to unite us a bit. A common cause at an extremely stressful time.
And fundamentally, I think we should do whatever it takes to get as many people vaccinated as possible. Whatever it takes. If that means a few thousand coffees and chocolate bars and Mr Whippy soft serves, good! If someone is incentivised to be vaccinated by a chance to rip some unwanted hair off their nether regions, a sack-back-crack-wax-and-vax, great! If it means watching Ashley Bloomfield get dunked in a vat of congealing gunge, fantastic!
And if all of that stuff still isn’t enough to incentivise you to get vaccinated, maybe the less silly stuff will get you or someone you know over the line.
In most cases, one vaccine dose will keep you alive. Two vaccine doses will keep you out of hospital. They’ll help to keep your family safe. Your friends. Little kids who can’t be vaccinated. It’s the safe thing to do. It’s the civic-minded thing to do. It’s the Kiwi thing to do. And whether we’re vaccinated or not... the virus is coming.

Fears Auckland's outbreak is spiralling out of control like it has in Victoria and New South Wales.
New Zealand has 65 new community cases today - all in Auckland.
The Ministry of Health has moved away from trying to figure out where unlinked cases have come from.
It's also stopped tracking sub-clusters.
Australian Infectious Diseases Expert Peter Collignon told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's concerning to see.
“I think you’re on the same trajectory as the East Coast of Australia in that it’s not able to eliminate this virus anymore, mainly because it’s so much more easily transmitted.”
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There's still optimism New Zealand's largest music festival will still run.
Uncertainty is rife over whether the country will get to celebrate summer as it knows it.
Already one of the country's most iconic music festivals - Bay Dreams - has fallen victim to the Delta outbreak due to MIQ uncertainty.
But there's confidence major festivals such as Rhythm and Vines will still go ahead.
Promoter Brent Eccles told Heather Du Plessis-Allan he thinks the Government will move heaven into high water to make festivals happen.
“Promoters are pretty maverick kind of people and we can move fast, but we just need to know, get more clues like for example: are they going to mandate the vaccine certificates for gigs?”
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Everybody is gearing up for Super Saturday tomorrow.
Jacinda Ardern is hoping we’ll get more than 100,000 jabs in arms.
Auckland needs several tens of thousands of jabs to reach that 90 per cent threshold.
There are prizes to be won, food to be had, and former All Blacks to cheer people on.
One of those former All Blacks is Ben Smith.
He told Heather du Plessis-Allan he’ll be helping from home.
“I’m doing a few phone calls to try and help the cause and make sure that people are getting out there and doing their bit to get vaccinated.”
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NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet's unilateral decision to scrap hotel and home quarantine for vaccinated international travellers has blindsided Australia's Prime Minister and sparked fears it could lead to longer state border closures.
While November 1 was the date both the PM and NSW Premier were working towards to open international borders, the decision to slash even home quarantine from 14 days to zero shocked the Morrison Government.
It was expected that NSW would trial a seven-day home quarantine model to start for international travellers, before shifting towards a shorter time frame over coming weeks.

Premier Dominic Perrottet, right, and Deputy Premier Paul Toole drink a beer before holding a media conference earlier this week in Sydney. Photo / Getty Images
There's also confusion over whether international tourism will be allowed.
The Prime Minister had previously signalled that it was his preference to ensure all Australians who wanted to come home for Christmas could do so before tourism reopened.
Government sources have indicated they were "surprised" by the speed of the bombshell announcement at 10am on Friday.
News.com.au understands the NSW Premier did alert the Morrison government to the looming announcement. However, federal government sources noted NSW "don't choose how we open up the borders and to whom".
It follows earlier reports of 'robust' exchanges between the Prime Minister and the NSW Premier over Covid financial support, where he allegedly referred to Perrottett as "a f***wit".
There are also concerns that the NSW Premier is adopting a "let it rip" approach now that the state is nearly 80 per cent double vaccinated, with the target expected to be met this weekend.
But Perrottet insisted he wanted the world to know the state was "open for business" and the days of living in a "hermit kingdom" were "over".
"From November 1st, those people returning to Australia who want to come back, who want to visit Australia and come to Sydney, hotel quarantine will be a thing of the past," he said.
"People coming into here, you'll need to do a PCR test before you board the flight. You will need to show proof of your double vaccination.
"For double vaccinated people around the world, Sydney, New South Wales is open for business. We want people back. We are leading the nation out of the pandemic. Hotel quarantine, home quarantine is a thing of the past."
Ultimately, the question of re-opening international borders and the granting of tourism visas is a matter for the Morrison Government.
So, while the November 1 re-opening is agreed to during private discussions, the question of international tourism is not resolved.
The question of scrapping home quarantine is ultimately a matter for the NSW Premier. But there's already a huge backlash within the state to the idea of allowing international arrivals head straight to the regions.
In Queensland, chief health officer Jeannette Young was notified via "a very brief text message" of the huge change.
"There has just been an enormous decision this morning that I haven't been able to get my head around so I need to go and work out what that change means," she said.
In Victoria, Health Minister Martin Foley admitted he didn't have a clue that NSW was going to scrap home quarantine for international travellers.
"Everyone needs to take a chill pill,'' he said. "We are not aware of the full details of a media release hot off the printer from the New South Wales government. We will go through that. We wish New South Wales, as we always do, every success, and Victoria will go about its business in the national context, understanding it's the Commonwealth who control international borders, not the states."

Victoria's Health Minister Martin Foley admitted he didn't have a clue that NSW was going to scrap home quarantine for international travellers. Photo / Getty...

How is this for some fantastic news: 
New South Wales has just announced it’s opening its borders to the world from November 1.
And it is opening to everyone: returning Aussies, business people, tourists from anywhere in the world. The whole blinking lot of them. 
MIQ is over.
Home isolation is over.
Arrivals just need to be double-jabbed with a negative test.
And they’re allowed in and allowed to pretty much do whatever they want the minute they land.
Next, they’re talking about bringing back cruises.
This has come as a huge surprise to people. 
It’s being described as a shock move, as a surprise and as a major policy shift.
Because this is much more liberal than the plan had been.
Up to now, under the previous Premier Gladys Berejiklian, the plan was to move to allow home isolation from November 1.
But the new guy in charge, Dominic Perrottet, has made it clear he’s keen to press fast forward on reopening.
Good on them.
Because this is realistic.
There is no point in keeping borders closed to keep Covid out when you have Covid already.
That makes no sense whatsoever.
Here's hoping it goes well for them because if it does, it puts pressure on us to wriggle on.
If Aussies can get home for Christmas, it’s going to be very hard for Jacinda to bar Kiwis from coming home for Christmas.
And if Aussies start holidaying Bali and flying to Asia for business, it’s going to be very hard for Jacinda to explain why she’s taking an uber-cautious approach to doing the same as time ticks on.
So good on NSW. They are a ray of hope to us right now.