5 March 2021

Kia ora koutou katoa,

Like me, I'm sure you were delighted to hear the Prime Minister announce the reduction in Alert Levels earlier today. From 6.00am on Sunday (7 March) Auckland will move to Alert Level 2 and the rest of the country will move to Alert Level 1.

Thanks to people in Auckland doing the right things and coming forward to be tested we've been able to open the region up again. Let's hope it can stay that way.

What this means for Auckland:

Under Level 2 there's much more freedom of movement. However, some restrictions remain to help keep everyone safe. This means:

• Businesses and schools can open but public health guidance including physical distancing and record keeping need to be maintained
• Mass gatherings will need to be limited to 100 people
• Hospitality businesses must keep groups of customers separated, seated, and served by a single person with a maximum of 100 people at a time
• Maintaining physical distancing
• Wearing a face mask/covering if you are in an enclosed space like on public transport.

For the rest of the country

Under Alert Level 1 people can do most things as they normally would. Border restrictions remain in place and face masks/coverings must be worn on public transport, including flights.

Doing the basics

There are some things we should all be doing regardless of lower Alert Levels:

• Washing our hands
• Using the NZ COVID Tracer app
• Staying home if we feel ill
• If you have COVID-19 like symptoms, staying home and calling your GP or Healthline on 0800 611 116 for advice.

Please continue to share these important actions with the communities you work with and represent. 

Information available in other languages

We've worked with the All of Government Group to get new COVID-19 information translated into multiple languages. You'll find this on covid19.govt.nz

Factsheets for sharing

A number of people have asked me for simple factsheets, setting out information that they can share with communities. Different agencies have created information on:

• Contact tracing and what different categories of contact mean
• Support for those in financial difficulty
• Support available for businesses.

We've saved these in pdf format on our website.

COVID-19 Vaccines

On Tuesday we were delighted to bring together over 130 ethnic community leaders,  on a Zoom call with Minister Radhakrishnan and Dr Ashley Bloomfield, Director-General of Health. 

The discussion was wide-ranging and had a particular focus on the roll-out of vaccines.

I can confirm that Dr Bloomfield is as calm, reassuring and friendly in person as he appears on TV. From people's reactions he also has a certain celebrity status! Dr Bloomfield shared some key information that I'd like to pass on as not everyone could be on the call. His main points on the vaccine were:

• New Zealand has started using the Pfizer vaccine
• It's safe and effective with results from overseas very encouraging
• It's free to anyone who is in New Zealand at the moment - they don't have to be registered with a GP and don't have to prove citizenship or residency 
• Being vaccinated is strongly encouraged to help keep everyone safe
• It's Halal and Kosher and contains no animal products or components of animal origin
• Vaccination roll-out is planned in three waves:
  • Starting with those in roles with greater exposure to the virus e.g. our border workers and those in managed isolation facilities
  • Then those who are more vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19 such as older people and those with pre-existing conditions
  • Then the wider population.

More detail is available at covid19.govt.nz

We hope to arrange similar sessions with ethnic community leaders in future. I know not everyone could join but having unlimited people on these calls tends to make people's screens freeze. As more vaccine information becomes available we will share it in a variety of ways.

Looking after yourselves and each other

I've been asked to keep reminding people of the support that's available for mental wellbeing. Please encourage your communities to reach out for support if they need it. Information on looking after your mental wellbeing can be found on the COVID-19 website.

As ever our regional teams are here to help. If you need to get in touch with us here is a list of our Regional Managers. We would be delighted to talk with you. 

Northern Region (upper North Island)
Nandita Mathur - 027 299 8031

Central (central and lower-North Island)
Kudakwashe Tuwe - 027 213 5972

Southern Region (South Island)
Shane Whitfield – 029 200 4625

If you prefer, you can reach us by email at ethnic.communities@dia.govt.nz.

To wrap up this update I'd like to acknowledge our team in Auckland and the many ethnic community leaders, associations, religious groups and individuals who have helped share vital information, and supported some of our most vulnerable. You made a real difference to many people. 

Please take care of yourselves, your families, loved ones, and wider communities.

Ngā mihi nui
Anusha Guler
Executive Director, Office of Ethnic Communities