Teanau Tuiono is the spokesperson for the Green Party’s Covid-19 response

OPINION: Alarm bells rang for me when the Prime Minister announced that many of the practices that have kept us safe over the past few years were going to be discontinued.

For two very simple reasons. First, the pandemic is not over. And, second, the government still hasn’t done everything possible to make sure everyone is safe too. Whatever your point of view, it will be the Maori and whānau of the Pacific, the immunocompromised, the disabled, our under 5s and the lowest income whānau who will be the most affected by the pandemic and the changes brought.

Rather than deciding how quickly he could remove Covid protections, what Cabinet ministers should have been discussing was a plan for the future.

We should always center those who are most exposed to the continued impacts of this pandemic, instead of those who, with their friends on the lawn of Parliament, have continued to beat the business drum to loosen the rules in an attempt to make things work. back. the pandemic clock.

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But the changes have not brought people back to the proportions some had hoped. I would venture to assume that people’s reluctance to visit local shops and cafes might have something to do with the ongoing pandemic, rather than public health measures. Which would suggest that the best economic response is indeed a strong public health response.

We have seen overseas what happens if protections are removed too soon. There were things missing from last week’s announcement.

To begin with, there should have been a clear plan to increase immunization coverage for Maori and Pacific peoples, as well as children. Three doses of vaccine are needed for a person to be protected from Omicron. Currently, about three-quarters of the eligible population have received their third dose. But for Maori and Pacific people, it’s 59% and 60% respectively. In other words – and in exactly the same way as with Delta – the government changed the Covid settings before there was fair protection for Maori and Pacific peoples.

For Maori and Pasifika, where our lives, family units and communities are often structured in completely different ways, self-isolation is not always an easy option. And because of this, whānau are untested as many of them cannot afford to isolate themselves as whānau, let alone physically isolate themselves within a household. This is why it is more important than ever that support is available for whānau, hapū and community service providers doing mahi with our Maori and pasifika whānau. As it stands, 43% of all hospitalizations to date for Omicron are Pasifika, peaking at over 60%. This is a statistic no one should be prepared to accept.

Second, the government should have committed to ensuring that everyone has access to the best quality masks. Removing Covid protective measures will not impact everyone equally. Thousands of people are at greater risk simply because the most effective masks are so expensive. If you’re already struggling to make ends meet, spending $30 on a box of masks just isn’t an option.

Rather than leaving people to fend for themselves (and their wallets), the Prime Minister’s announcement should have refocused attention on the importance of collective action. To come together for the good of all, to get along and do concrete things. One of the most practical things the government can do right now is provide free N95 masks, or an equally effective equivalent, to everyone.

Third, the Greens are said to have put in place a plan to ensure that children and their whānau are not further exposed to a change in Covid-19 protections. As numbers of cases that seemed impossible a few years ago now occur daily, it is essential that we do all we can to keep our children and the communities around them safe.

Schools, once considered by the Covid-19 minister to be a safe place for children, have seen the most disruption due to the rapid transmission of Omicron. Current support for schools is patchy at best.

It was far too premature for the government to drop vaccination mandates for education, especially in early childhood education where those under 5 cannot be vaccinated. Letting schools and kura play trial and error with the health of our children, and by extension the health of their whānau, is not the careful, caring approach we expect.

As a parent, my concern goes firmly to the parents and caregivers of disabled, immunocompromised and medically fragile children, most of whom have been in isolation since the pandemic began two years ago. I heard about Awhi Ngā Mātua, an online community for these vulnerable tamariki, and they are heartbroken over the changes to public health protections. They feel terrified, gassed, anxious and abandoned.

The government needed to focus on fixing gaps in the layers of protection, not removing things. This would have been particularly important for those under 5 who cannot be vaccinated, as well as immunocompromised children and those with underlying health conditions.

The final step should have included a plan to make sure everyone has what they need to recover and stay healthy. People with the lowest incomes will be among those who are likely to be the most affected by the change in the protective parameters against Covid-19.

Whatever the pandemic brings, no one should have to go through it while still trapped in poverty. Changing protective parameters should have been accompanied by a clear plan to improve the long-term well-being of our communities so that everyone, regardless of their circumstances, has what they need to support themselves and to those of his whānau.

Over the past few weeks and months, we have seen government change and change in what most people think is a reactionary way of political groups and business interests wanting to ‘get back to normal’. But we will never return to normal, pre-pandemic times. We need to plan for the future, not just for our tamariki and the current outbreak, but to prepare for new variants, the inevitable second wave of Omicron cases, and for the health and well-being of our communities.

A strong public health response, for the Greens, includes breaking the shackles of poverty, massively increasing social housing construction, raising benefits to livable levels and implementing rent controls. People cannot keep warm with balance sheets or live in a performing GDP. People need warm homes, livable communities, and they need awhi (help and support) and whānau. Our future can be much bolder and more inclusive, but we need everyone on board.

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, ēngari taku toa he toa takatini – Success is not the work of one but the work of many.