COVID-19 Update - 25 Poutū-te-Rangi 2022 Rāmere, 25 Poutū-te-Rangi 2022Kei ia mokopuna te mana whakarite kia hari pai tōna whaioranga, kia rongo i te ahurutanga o tōna taiao, ā, kia ātawhaitia i roto i te poho o tōna whānau. Te tikanga kia koa te mokopuna i roto i tōna whaioranga ā kia ātawhaitia kia pai te noho, ā, kia wātea ngā huarahi, ā kei runga i a ia te korowai o Te Kōhanga Reo e whakaatu nei i tōna ihi, wehi, mana. It is the right of each mokopuna to enjoy good health, to be nurtured and protected in a safe environment cloaked in Te Kōhanga Reo korowai of freedom, dignity and respect. Te Korowai, whārangi 20. Tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa. The announcement made on Wednesday, 23 March, by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has given us much to consider, and a lot to reflect on regarding the past two years. It has been tough on all of us, and now we must take a measured approach in response to the changes to the restrictions and light settings. For some, it may feel as if our efforts to follow the Covid guidelines and Public Health Orders have been meaningless. However, if you look at it on a global scale, Aotearoa has had one of the lowest fatality rates and highest vaccinations rates of any country in the world. Our focus as Kōhanga Reo has always been the health and wellbeing of our mokopuna, our kaumatua, whānau, and kaimahi. According to health advice, the mandate did its job, but for Kōhanga Reo, we look at all aspects of the tamaiti and whānau to ensure that we promote a holistic view of wellbeing. Nō reira, e aroha nui ana ki te Tairawhiti, koutou kei te huarahi matua 35, Mataatua, Whanau a Apanui, Ngati Porou, Kahungunu Heretaunga tae atu ki te puku o te ika. Kia kaha kia koutou e te whānau. Tihei Mauri ora. The Latest Statistics: Today, there are 15,871 new community cases reported and 13 new deaths. There are 899 cases in hospital and a total of 120,371 active community cases in Aotearoa. Ka tuku aroha ki ngā whānau kua noho pani nei me ngā tūroro kei roto i ngā hōhipera. Here is the latest information on the traffic light settings and requirements: New Zealand remains at Red. However, Cabinet will review the traffic light settings on Monday, 4 April. Guidance on mandatory vaccination requirements: From
11.59pm on Monday 4 April, all workers in Kōhanga Reo, early learning services, schools and kura, will no longer be required to be vaccinated to work with children or students, or to work on site where children and young people might be present. Volunteer workers and those living in a home where licensed home-based education and care takes place will also no longer be required to be vaccinated. Why have these changes been made? The continuous review and maintenance of your Covid policies is good practice, and helps to ensure Kōhanga Reo are well prepared for the different phases of a pandemic . With new variants of the virus expected in future, there may well be a need for these policies to be reinforced once again. Health predictions are that illnesses will be particularly severe for those who are already health compromised this winter. COVID-19 Protection Framework, My Vaccine Pass and vaccination mandates Key points
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Hei whakaaro and FAQ’s (taken from Ministry of Education Bulletin) Are we obligated to re-employ a previous staff member whose employment ended due to the Public Health Order mandate? No. The removal of the mandate does not mean that unvaccinated staff members whose employment ended have a right to return to their former position, or to any other position. This includes employees who resigned because of their inability to comply with the mandate or whose employment was ended after a robust employment process. Your normal obligations to advertise vacancies and appoint on merit apply to all new appointments. Employment agreements with replacement staff appointed while the vaccination requirements were in place are not changed by the removal of the mandates and remain valid. What if my early learning service wants to continue requiring all staff members to be vaccinated as a health and safety policy? The decision to remove vaccine mandates has been based upon the assessment that they are no longer proportionate to the current risks from Omicron with the other mitigations that are in place. This recognises that a large proportion of the workforce is now fully vaccinated and boosted, which provides an additional layer of protection to staff, students, children, and wider community, and that other mitigating hygiene measures will continue to provide layers of protection. Given this context, including that your workforce is highly vaccinated, your service will need to consider what work, if any, will continue to need to be undertaken by a vaccinated worker. Can we continue to ask people for their vaccination status? In general, no. However, you can continue to ask workers about their vaccination status if you have good reason to do so. What do we do with the vaccination records we have kept about staff and volunteer workers? You should ensure the information you have collected and handled about an employee’s vaccination status is stored securely, in accordance with the Privacy Act. What if we have agreed to a term of absence for an unvaccinated staff member? Any employment agreements entered into with staff to cover the leave of absence still apply. If these are tied to a specific date, then that date still applies, unless the parties agree to a new date. Health & Wellbeing: Te Pou Tuawhā. The Trust continues to focus on the things that we know are most effective at reducing the spread of COVID–19 and protecting whānau. While the mandate has been lifted, we continue to encourage whānau to get vaccinated as vaccination provides a layer of protection to create a safe environment for everyone in Kōhanga Reo. This remains true for mokopuna under 5, who cannot access the vaccination as well as immune compromised mokopuna and kaimahi. Hei whakakapi E ngā pakihiwi kaha o te kaupapa me pēhea rā te mihi ki a koutou i pōkaikaha nei ki te whai i ngā pou o te kaupapa kia noho haumaru ā tātou mokopuna, whānau. Kia tū tika, kia tū pono ki ngā whakahaere ā ture, ā tikanga. Ko te whakaaro nui hoki ko te whānau whānui kia ora tonu ai te puna mātauranga o te reo mē ngā tikanga. Ngā taonga tukutuku kei te tuku tonu nei. Kei te mihi, kei te mihi. Ki ngā rohe i ngau kinotia e tēnei ngāngara,
Ka huri ki ngā ākina o tēnei wā tonu ki Te Tairāwhiti ko Tawhirimātaea, ā Parawhenua mea, a Rūaimoko, e ngarue te whenua e ngako ana te moana. E ngā uri a Maui Tikitiki, e whakamātautautia ana koutou, e tuku kaha, tuku ora ana ki a koutou i tēnei wā. Kāti kei ngā rohe katoa o te Ika ā Maui ki Te Waipounamu, whakawhiti atu ki Wharekauri, e te motu tawharautia te kaupapa o te Kōhanga Reo. Amohia ake te oranga o te iwi, kia puta ki te wheiao The wellbeing of the people is paramount Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero |