Covid Watch

More financial aid is on the way for businesses impacted by Covid-19.
The Government's decided to keep Auckland in lockdown, and the wider country at Level Two, until next Tuesday night.
It triggers a third round of the Wage Subsidy Scheme - which will open for applications at nine-am on Friday.
The Government also revealed last Friday it would dip into its pocket for a second Covid Resurgence Support Payment.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson says it's more support than any previous lockdown.
He says they will work through this as they have before managing down cases, and will move to level 2 as soon as possible.
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Delta's making it hard to predict when we could be in the Covid clear.
Auckland will remain in lockdown - and the rest of the country in Alert Level Two - until at least 11.59pm next Tuesday.
Cabinet will review the situation next Monday.
Covid modeller Michael Plank says if we continue seeing similar trends, we could be down to single digit daily cases in a few weeks.
But, he says, nothing's guaranteed.
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An Auckland couple who allegedly illegally travelled to their Wanaka holiday home are the talk of the South Island town.
The pair reportedly drove to Hamilton Airport and then flew to Queenstown via Wellington on Thursday.
Police found the pair on Saturday after a tip to its Covid compliance -reporting website.
It's been revealed the man involved, is the son of a high-ranking public official.
Wanaka business owner Rosemary Barr says many are chatting about the trip.
She says they're disappointed and cross an essential worker exemption was used to head south.
Police are now considering charges under the Covid health act.
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A medical expert says Auckland's lockdown isn't working - and extending it won't either.
Auckland University Emeritus Professor Des Gorman claims ongoing problems aren't being addressed and extra measures are required.
Gorman says there are a few reasons for new cases. One, he says is that essential workers are getting infected. He says a solution to this is daily saliva testing.
A second way in which we could be getting new cases is through chains of transmission in the community we're not aware. Gorman says we should set up mass surveillance saliva testing at supermarkets and pharmacies where the epicentres are, to flush out these chains of transmission.
The third explanation he says is people simply not complying with level 4 rules. To remedy this he believes we need community lead surveillance.
He says shutting down this outbreak is going to require something different.
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For a government obsessed with optics, it beggars' belief that more thought wasn’t given to James Shaw’s decision to travel all the way to Scotland for a climate change conference in 8 weeks' time. 
I mean, let’s get past the glaring carbon footprint of all that travel and look at the other hypocritical aspects of this. 
This is a party who objected so strongly to Parliament being resumed in person that they refused to attend; such was their horror that travel should take place during Delta. That same sentiment seems to have conveniently been overlooked in this case. 
Add to this, the fact that he will take up an MIQ spot which has magically appeared for him at the end of it all. 
So that’s a spot he’s taking that could have gone to someone else. There are people in virtual queues for months on end with a variety of excellent reasons as to why they should get an MIQ spot, yet James Shaw just magically jumps the queue and gets one. 
Optics? Not good. 
But then, for a bright guy, James Shaw seems to make a lot of bizarre choices. 
Remember the Green school debacle? That controversy raged last year after he supported handing millions of taxpayer dollars to a private "green school", much to the alarm of his own base. And surely that same base is aware that lowering carbon emissions is a tenet of Green party politics, as opposed to increasing them by zipping round the world for, of all ironies, a climate change conference? 
On top of that, optics wise, is the fact that we have been locked down or closed in with shut borders for so long now, that it’s a rare day politicians rub it in our faces by gallivanting overseas. Trade Minister Damien O'Connor travelled to the UK and Europe this year, he’s the only one.  
The PM was meant to go to Australia, but that trip got canned, and her upcoming sojourn to the UN in New York looks unlikely too. So why is James Shaw so special? Why does he deserve privileges here? How does he justify being only the second Minister to depart our borders since the government slammed them shut? 
But actually, prior to them being shut, he was a big fan of the international travel too. 
Data from 2019 showed Shaw spent more on international air travel than any other minister, more than even the Prime Minister. No other minister's international travel expenses came close to Shaw's total, it was reported at the time. 
So, we know he likes a jet ride, and let’s be frank, like many of us he’s probably been itching to get on a plane and get somewhere. But you can’t have it both ways. It’s got a touch of Harry and Meghan about it. You can’t be an active and vocal campaigner against the stuff you then go and do. 
It looks, and is, hypocritical.

A couple of big announcements that are worth giving some thought to, and making a few comparisons.   
A roadmap of sorts was announced in New South Wales. The vaccinated get access to pubs, restaurants, and cafes. New South Wales is opening back up and living with Covid. A similar plan is being sorted for Victoria. 
Australia, this week, announced international borders will be open by December. 
Scott Morrison yesterday announced ex-pats will be able to return and isolate at home; their mad ban on travelling overseas will be dropped. 
Singapore opened travel corridors to Europe, Macau and Hong Kong. Presumably, given Australia's announcements, that means Aussies can travel to Singapore, return, and self-isolate. We have the same deal but we can't get home.   
Denmark announced for them Covid is done. Testing is to be reduced, the vaccine is the answer, and their restrictions are going. Sweden is on a similar path. 
By way of contrast, the good news here was we found 250,000 vaccines, which allegedly covers the gap between now and the big orders arriving next month. But why only 250,000? And where is the other country in the so-called multi country deal? Something has gone wrong. 
We also will have a Covid passport by Christmas, that’s good. 
But our borders are still closed, the reconnecting with the world plan is delayed, elimination is still the option, and we are still locked down unlike the vast majority of the world. We are not forging forward in a specific and deliberate way anywhere near the way so many others are. 
Just in our region, look at Singapore and Australia, look at the vaccine rollout numbers, look at the planning, look at the specifics, look at the targets, and look at the aspiration and hope those announcements targets and specifics bring. 
Meantime, here this week, the Government asked for another $41 billion on the debt overdraft. The price of this past month is $1 billion a week. 
Ex-pats can't get a MIQ spot, MIQ is closed, we can't trace the outbreak source, and we still have mystery cases. We are in, comparatively speaking, a woeful place, with tangible examples around us of how others do it indisputably better.

One man is on a mission to feed the homeless in lockdown.  
Hangi Master's Rewi Spraggon says he and his son have given out about three thousand hangi to Tamaki Makaurau's homeless and food banks.   
The caterer told Kate Hawkesby lockdown has affected the homeless.  
"A lot of them usually eat in the back of restaurants, in the rubbish cans behind the restaurants. But with no restaurants open, there's no food, so there's a huge struggle." 
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Australia can expect Covid cases to continue to rise.  
9News Australia reporter Charles Croucher told Mike Hosking New South Wales is being told to expect a surge.  
"We're being told the next two weeks is going to be the worst for case numbers, the month of October will be tough for hospitals. This is really pushing the limit of what we can do on the front line." 
New South Wales recorded more than 14-hundred cases and five deaths yesterday, Victoria 324 cases, ACT 15 and Queensland one.  
The latest numbers out of Australia are expected later today. 
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An Auckland tourism operator says international tourists will be needed to help keep local businesses afloat. 
Bush and Beach Tour Company's Ben Thornton says most Kiwis see the region as the epicentre of Covid outbreaks.  
He argues the 17 MIQ facilities scattered throughout the city, will put other New Zealanders off wanting to visit. 
Thornton told Kate Hawkesby international tourists will be the key to survival. 
"The only glimmer of hope I have is, because the Government have left it so long it's now too late. Potentially, once they've got the vaccination numbers up they'll be able to help in the new year, that's what we're hoping for and praying for." 
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Immunity testing could soon be used as a vital tool in the fight against Covid-19.  
Orbis Diagnostics is developing technology, which will be capable of taking a tiny blood sample from up to 15-people at a time. 
About 15-minutes later, it will show a person's level of Covid immunity. 
Scientific Founder David Williams told Mike Hosking they are in talks with the Government. 
"They are engaging and we've had good conversations with the Government. In part, people are waiting for us to produce some trial results." 
The company aims to begin trials from late next month. 
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