Covid Watch

A Funeral Home featuring in a video of people breaking Auckland's lockdown has spoken out.
Newstalk ZB's obtained video of more than 50 people in Avondale yesterday at a burial and hearse procession.
Tipene Funeral Home owner, Francis Tipene, says they had problems following their normal procedure, of driving away when they come across people from more than one bubble.
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An expert says he's impressed with the push from the top to get Aucklanders vaccinated.
The Prime Minister's hammered home the message - saying there's capacity for up to 220 thousand jabs across the region this week.
Malaghan Institute of Medical Research director Graham Le Gros says now's the time to get jab.
He says it takes about six to eight weeks to get both jabs and become immune - allowing people to enjoy the summer holidays.
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An Auckland couple who flouted lockdown could get permanent name suppression today.
A 35-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman who allegedly breached lockdown to head to Wanaka have interim name suppression so far.
Despite this, their names have been shared on social media platforms.
Massey University law professor, Chris Gallavin, says there a lot of factors play into keeping names secret.
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A friend of the Wānaka absconders called in to Si and James.  
He said the couple are “very remorseful” and that they know they've made “a huge stuff up.”  
But the friend says online backlash has gone way too far, with the couple even receiving death threats. 
The friend said he spoke to the male absconder last night and he was “a broken man.” 
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Gladys Berejiklian has probably done Australia a favour. She's not doing her 11 o'clock Covid update anymore, because the state is reopening. She's got bigger fish to fry. 
The idea that leaders do daily updates is, of course, anathema in most parts of the world. It seems now to suit only those who wish to continue to manipulate, like us. 
This country has become obsessed with cases and by, extension, deaths. Not all deaths, virtually every death goes completely unspoken about. And most hospitalisations and admissions go completely unnoticed. 
It's only when you step back a minute, and when you look to what's happening overseas, do you realise just how hopelessly hypnotised we have become. It's to no one's benefit except possibly the Government’s 
We have an increasing number of countries where a future completely unlike ours is being charted. Singapore, parts of Australia, Sweden, Denmark, and Britain, are all obvious examples of how shackles are being tossed aside in favour of freedom. 
In fact, the vast majority of the world is actually getting on with life. From America to virtually any country you want to name in Europe, are all leading vastly more open lives than ours. 
Some countries might worry us. America is fairly poorly vaccinated and yet largely open. Look at the crowds at any sporting event. Now you might not like the look of that, but that’s probably because you're fearful. And you are probably fearful because the Government has made you so. 
By Berejiklian being out of people's faces on a daily basis, what will happen is people will become less obsessed with cases, in the same way Britain is becoming less obsessed with cases. We've turned it into a game and a conversation starter. 
Hospitalisations and deaths are what medicos should worry about. You'll note the word medicos, they're the same people who worry about hospitalisations and deaths for everything, not just Covid. We've become quasi-medicos, people who pass judgement on a select condition but care not about anyone else's plight. 
We know how many have died, but only of Covid. Not of heart disease or road accidents. The one o'clock tells you how many admissions we have but only with Covid, not with diabetes, dementia, or gout. It’s a cruel, absurd, and nutty obsession. 
Berejiklian, along with myriad of other leaders, has seen it for it for how destructive it's become, and walked. 
You might want to ask why those who stay to ear bash us daily, want to be doing this, and what's their real agenda.

So, although we were delivered the worst kept secret that Auckland’s staying in Level 4 another week, I'm not convinced that'll be it. 
The PM said cabinet had made an ‘in principle’ decision that Auckland would move to Level 3 next Tuesday midnight, but an in-principle decision is not a final decision.  
As always, they’ll make the actual decision based on the latest available data, and who knows what this week brings, and what that data might be. 
We are of course in a bit of a game here of PR spin: 'pretend and extend' is their current mantra. 
Pretend lockdown's working, and extend it. The idea being, that way you'll get more buy in. 
How much are we buying in though? 
If it was working, we wouldn't still be getting cases and we'd be out of this by now. 
As of last weekend, there'd already been more than 7 thousand lockdown breaches reported: 141 people formally warned, 71 people charged with a total of 75 offences. 
We've also had the MIQ escapee, the drunk driver turning up at the border trying to get through, the two essential workers with two kilos of cannabis in their car trying to get through the border, the man running along train tracks with meth to avoid a Northland checkpoint, the two sisters who abused Police as they tried to break through the Northland border, the alleged sex in the hospital by visitors, the couple who fled to Hamilton and flew on to Wānaka. 
I mean we're a compliant bunch, but not all of us are following the rules here. 
And I haven't even included the PM's mate Siouxsie Wiles, who likes long bike rides to the beach. 
In reality, this is less about lockdown working (and therefore us having to stay in it), and more about the fact that not enough of us are vaccinated yet, our health system couldn't cope with a large outbreak, and the Government's hell bent on an elimination strategy. 
So, the reason we keep hearing them repeat "lockdown is working" is to keep us under the delusion that the path they've chosen is the right one. And when the PM was challenged on why she told us at the start of all this that lockdown would be 'short and sharp'.. she obfuscated and got tetchy.  
She tried to redefine what short and sharp means. She said she meant 'lockdown would come hard and early'. Was anyone buying that?  
When the reporter quoted the PM back to herself “We want lockdown to be short and sharp not light and long”, which were her exact words, she was visibly annoyed. He asked what sort of mental gymnastics she was expecting us all to perform. She got flushed out on saying one thing and doing another. 
Which is why I don’t take too much notice of them saying Auckland 'in principle' will be into Level 3 by next Wednesday. 
Will it though?

Another week of level 4 for Auckland and level 2 for the rest of the country. 
The longer this goes on; the more questions are being raised about at what point elimination strategy becomes socially and economically unviable.  
Professor Robert MacCulloch, from Auckland University's faculty of Business and Economics discussed with Kate Hawkesby. 
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A drive to get more disabled people vaccinated.  
The Taikura Trust is launching Tiaki, a Covid-19 campaign aiming to break down barriers to access for Auckland's disabled community.  
Barriers include transportation to vaccine centres and communication not being catered to them.  
Minister for Disability issues Carmel Sepuloni told Kate Hawkesby there is vaccine hesitancy too.  
"People may have had negative experiences with the health system with previous situations, so that may extend to vaccinations. We need to do whatever we can to promote vaccination amongst disabled people." 
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It seems most Auckland primary and intermediate schools want the holidays to stay put. 
Some parents want the break moved forward so they don't have to supervise home schooling during level 3 or 4, and don't have to ask for annual leave as soon as they return to the office. 
Those holidays are due to start on October 4. 
Education Minister Chris Hipkins is waiting for advice from his officials before deciding. 
Auckland Primary Principals' Association President, Stephen Lethbridge, told Mike Hosking he's done a straw poll of schools. 
"At the moment, with two thirds of all schools in Auckland in around 90% of primary and intermediate schools surveyed, would like the holidays to remain unchanged." 
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Ashley Bloomfield is remaining positive about the chances of Auckland moving to Alert Level Three next week. 
The city will remain at Level Four and the rest of the country at Level Two for at least another week. 
Cabinet has made an in-principle decision to move Auckland to Level Three on Wednesday next week -- but that will depend on the number of active cases, unlinked cases and wastewater testing results. 
The Director General of Health told Mike Hosking the most important number, the number of mystery cases, is trending in the right direction. 
"Just to distinguish between the so-called mystery cases, the ones that we really don't know where they've come from, and the unlinked ones. The unlinked ones, often we know where they've come from, we just don't know exactly which person has infected another." 
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