'Scared as' — Hauraki iwi on high alert as New Zealand enters the traffic light system
Wednesday, 1 December 2021
A Hauraki iwi is nervous for its unvaccinated whānau as the lights of the new Covid-19 management system switch on.
Māori leaders have seen two close calls with Covid-19 cases in Hauraki, but with the move to the traffic light system at 11.59pm on Thursday, plans are being put in place to handle an outbreak.
Ngāti Hei kaumātua Joe Davis said he was worried about the community and the pressure that Covid cases will place on health providers as the ability to keep Covid-19 out of the area becomes unrealistic.
“We’re absolutely scared as s…, and, if positive tests come back, what if we have to lock them all in here?
**READ MORE:
* Covid-19: Should we travel to areas with low vaccination rates this summer?
* 'Don't come if you're not vaccinated' – Whakatū iwi urge holidaymakers to be responsible
* Interislander introduces vaccine, testing requirements for passengers from December 15
**
“The iwi, they’re all on high alert. If you’ve got a cold, just stay home, it’s the least you can do.”
The Hauraki region hosts more than 200,000 visitors over the holiday period, boosting its population tenfold over two months.
Thousands of people pack into campsites and, with Māori vaccination rates at a lower level than the general population, Davis was concerned the worst was yet to come.
“It only takes one person to blow it apart, and it’s just around the corner. The statistics for Hauraki Māori are not good.
“Around Whitianga we have a lot of artists, alternative lifestyles and anti-establishment, they have their rights. We have that dynamic, so that doesn’t help.”
Davis said the local GPs, Waikato District Health Board, public health organisations and Māori health providers were doing what they could to prepare for the swarm, but visitors needed to take responsibility for the consequences of their holiday travel.
“With the borders going down, I don’t know what’s going to happen.
“[Health providers] won’t have the capacity or the capability. It will be a state of emergency.”
In August, Coromandel residents set up a makeshift barricade at Manaia Bridge protect locals from visitors during alert level 4.
Davis said it’s possible roadblocks may be used again to close off the area by those who didn’t want people to visit.
But Māori health provider Te Korowai Hauora o Hauraki chief executive Riana Manuel said that was before their vaccination numbers had risen, and the traffic light system had been developed to protect the unvaccinated.
Manuel’s staff were preparing as they always do to support the influx of visitors, but she knew there were added complexities with Covid-19 this year.
“Everybody, vaccinated or unvaccinated, you must make a clear plan for how you are going to move around, and you must be responsible about your choices for you and your whānau.
“Understand where you’re coming to – there’s one way in and one way out and there are limited services and infrastructure here.”
Send your tips, story ideas and comments to poutiaki@stuff.co.nz
The coastal townships of Hauraki were “wonderful places to holiday”, Manuel said, but visitors needed to take extra precautions.
“Any symptom is a symptom, don’t just assume it’s a head cold, just get a test.”
Manuel urged visitors to be prepared if they tested positive for Covid-19 and be mindful of the resources they had on their trip and at home if they needed to isolate.
Whether it was food or health supplies, make sure those items were readily available in the home and in the car, Manuel said.
“Have a plan for how you will return home and, at home, make sure you have all the gear you need.”