Covid Watch

I agree with Chris Hipkins that overseas Kiwis hoping to come for a summer holiday shouldn’t be doing that.  
We’ve been saying this on this show for quite a while now.  
There just isn’t enough MIQ space for luxuries like a holiday right now.  
Even if the Government increased MIQ capacity, there still wouldn't’ be enough. 
On the radio this morning I heard a woman stuck in London, in tears because her mum’s been admitted hospital, and is waiting for a diagnosis that could be terminal, but she can’t home to see her mum. 
We’ve heard of the family who went to the US for potentially lifesaving cancer treatment for their 11-year-old who’ve been declined an MIQ space. 
There’s the couple stuck in the UK who’ve sold their house, quit work and sent all their belongings back to NZ, but haven’t been able to get an MIQ space for 3 months. 
Summer holidays don’t cut it as a reason important enough to deny those desperate people the few available MIQ spaces.  
But it isn’t really enough for Chris Hipkins to ask people to do the right thing. 
He needs to stop holidayers coming through MIQ.  
He has the power. That’s the privilege of being in Government.  
The Australians have done it. If you’re an Aussie in Aussie you can’t get out, you need government permission to leave. That stops unnecessary waste of precious MIQ by people wanting to holiday.  
Hipkins could do a proper shake up of MIQ, not the nonsense ‘random’ lottery he suggested yesterday.    
Former consul general to LA Maurice Williamson was on with us two days ago.  He studied computerised resource allocation – which is what the MIQ system needs - and he reckons it should be run like the immigration system: Give people points based on their need  
That way the most needy get it first.  
If they’re coming back to live or because someone in the family’s dying, they get a good lot of points.  
They get more points for every week that they wait.  
Summer holidays? Hardly any points.  
It’s such a good idea, it’s just been nicked by the Nats as policy they launched today.   
The MIQ system is desperate.  It has to be fixed. Chris Hipkins is going to have to do more than rely on the kindness of people based overseas.  
He’s actually got the power to fix this. He should use that power.

New Zealand has now been in lockdown for over two weeks, which means we're now starting to see cases numbers from only within the lockdown - which poses the question, is the lockdown working?
It was revealed today that of yesterday's 75 cases, 44% of them caught Covid in the community, which means that 33 of the 75 people caught Covid outside their household bubble in just one day's numbers.
But with being in a lockdown that is supposed to stop the spread of people of Covid outside the household bubble, Heather du Plessis-Allan asked Covid Modeller Shaun Hendy if that number worries him?
He said that number needs to come down. He thinks the overall the outbreak is getting under control, but says shifting out of level 4 in 2 weeks time is probably looking a bit tight. He says it is more likely to be 3-4 weeks.
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You never know when you're going to life-saving blood and plasma to keep you alive. 
On average 83 personal emergencies are faced by Kiwis each day and they don't all make the news. 
Despite the country coming to a standstill in Level 4, the need for blood and plasma donations never stops, nor do those working hard to collect them. 
Donations Team Leader at the New Zealand Blood Service Scott Sinclair joined Kerre McIvor. 
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Concerns that New Zealand could follow New South Wales and Victoria in being unable to eliminate Covid-19. 
Australia's two most populated states have all but given up on completely eliminating the virus -- as they struggle to contain surging cases of the Delta variant. 
Melbourne-based New Zealand epidemiologist Tony Blakely says New Zealand should continue it's elimination approach, at least for now. 
But he told Mike Hosking he sees some worrying similarities, between how the virus has been spreading in Sydney, in Melbourne, and now in Auckland. 
"The key one what I call heterogeneity, which is the fact that there are some populations for whom the reproductive rate is much higher. Over here it's in some western suburbs and that's exactly what you've got in south Auckland." 
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A claim a shake up to isolation rules could improve our film industry.  
While international film studios are interested in working here, it can be difficult to get MIQ spots for overseas actors.  
Film Commission Chair Dame Kerry Prendergast says eventually we could move to a system where vaccinated people self-isolate.   
She told Mike Hosking at the moment it's a process of negotiation. 
"Some of the domestic film productions that were given permission have international stars attached to get into national funding and we need managed isolation spots for those, so we are working very closely with government." 
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It could be a tough Christmas for Kiwis living overseas - and their families here at home.   
The Government is asking them not to try get back for the end of year holiday, and instead leave the spots to those who need them. 
They’re being asked to play their part by being patient as the pause on issuing MIQ vouchers has been extended by a few more weeks. 
Kiwis in London Administrator Thomas Kamm told Mike Hosking these are stressful times. 
"To visit friends and family back in New Zealand, less of a holiday more of a necessity. Certainly, for mental health reasons and before I even mention those trying to return to attend funerals." 
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Some questions you might like to ask yourself about the Government's promise of more vaccine. 
Where is it? They started making noises last week. 
We started the story when I asked Ashley Bloomfield whether more vaccine or a separate product could be, would be, and should be rolled out given we have hit a wall on supply, the demand was reaching 90,000 a day, and the last thing you want to do when you have momentum is stall it 
So, noises started getting made about calls, feelers, and irons in fires. Well, where is it? Over the ensuing week we have asked a number of times, and the answer is the same-ish. It's close, we are confident, we hopefully will have something soon. 
Another question, is that true? Or is that a stalling tactic? Another question, is this, essentially, an announcement about an announcement? An organised government would, of course, have simply gone ahead months ago and boosted stock. Or at the very least at the first sign of Delta here, hit the phones, done a deal, and announce the boost without being prodded. 
So, are we being stitched up yet again by a government that clearly doesn’t know how to do deals and move fast? 
Why do I ask these questions? Scott Morrison has drummed up a million Pfizer from Poland and half a million from Singapore. It's not like the vaccine isn't out there. It's not like it isn't being made by the million every minute of every day. 
We are not ordering special batches hand crafted for our specific needs at the Pfizer factory. What we are doing is dealing with agencies and governments. Can we not assume that if Singapore had half a million for Australia, they might have had some for us in a swap deal as well? 
In other words, there is no magic here. This isn't a needle in a haystack. This isn't James Bond-type double dealing. It's just a phone call, a swap, or a cheque. Australia dipped into their Covax pot. Have we done that? 
Why is this taking so long? Why are they stalling? Why, when the vaccine is the only way out and the numbers on cases look more and more like Victoria every day, aren't they actually delivering?

Desperation for the fruit industry as they contemplate a second picking season without enough workers. 
The Government's MIQ freeze means spots for seasonal workers have been cancelled.  
Yummy Fruit Company General Manager Paul Paynter told Mike Hosking they're fearing the worst. 
"There's a feeling of dread that we're going to experience the same as last year, but probably worse." 
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Concerns a new MIQ booking system may not make things any better. 
A new virtual queue for spots will come into action once the outbreak-induced pause is over. 
People will be selected from random, meaning they won’t have to constantly refresh the website.  
But Travel Technology Consultant Mike Moore told Kate Hawkesby there should instead be a system that provides people with some ability to plan. 
"One is the idea of a wait list, which basically provides the opportunity for people who want to to form an orderly queue, and other part is to extend the booking horizon as far as possible into the future." 
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The man leading our Covid response admits he's on edge over getting extra jabs into the country, to match the surge in interest in vaccination.
Chris Hipkins hopes to have more news on stocks in the next day or two.
He says it’s a complicated situation – and people are working around the clock to increase supply.
He told Heather du Plessis-Allan he doesn’t want to go into detail on negotiations, until something’s been inked
Hipkins is also asking the Ministry of Health to be more transparent on publishing locations of interests.
Some 20 new locations released this afternoon, include exposure sites from weeks ago.
He says the risk of exposure is low.
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