COVID-19 Update #85 - Hakihea 2021 Rāapa, 1 Hakihea 2021COVID-19 Update Pānui no. #85.If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 COVID-19 Pānui no. 85 Ko te mokopuna he taonga tino whakahirahira ahakoa ōna tau. Tōna whakapapa, tōna ira tangata me ōna pūmanawatanga. Preparing ourselves and understanding the new traffic light Covid protection framework will take some time. At midnight tomorrow the whole country will move to this system and for Kōhanga Reo it will mean we need to narrow our focus to our whānau and mokopuna. We anticipate that some of our health services could come under pressure and people may fall through the cracks. It is our collective responsibility to look after our mokopuna and our whānau, and Kōhanga Reo will need to continue to be vigilant with our contact tracing, health and hygiene and record-keeping processes. Funding for Tāmaki Makaurau under the new framework will be slightly different to other Red light regions. There is more information in this pānui about what this means. Thank you for your continued patience and dedication to the Kaupapa. We know there is so much more going on in our Kōhanga Reo so if you would like to share some of your kōrero, please drop a line to our comms team by replying to this pānui. Tēnā koutou katoa. Reminders Just a reminder as of tomorrow midnight there are no more Alert levels. We will be fully integrated into the new Covid-19 Protection Framework - Traffic Light System. The Ministry of Education has released some information about what this means for the education sector, but it will take a while to process. When being tested, please remember to ask that the health professional doing the test notes down your education SURV code, which for Kōhanga Reo is: SURV-ECE Updates Under the new Traffic light system, the guidance says that for Kōhanga Reo and ECE’s “usual funding rules apply”. There is, however, a difference for Tāmaki Makaurau. Although all Kōhanga Reo and Early learning services can open at the different traffic light settings, we must ensure that we can open safely with the proper health and hygiene processes in place. Ministry of Education Funding update 2021 and 2022 EC12 exemption for Auckland services ECE key funding dates for 2022 The Ministry of Education toolkit includes a letter to parents that says parents are able to settle children regardless of their vaccination status. Kaimahi and whānau who are vaccinated maybe apprehensive, and every Kōhanga Reo will need to develop their own strategy to ensure we do not discourage our whānau and mokopuna from coming to Kōhanga Reo. Kōhanga Reo is the best place for mokopuna. New toolkit to support managing positive COVID-19 A new toolkit is available to support early learning services, to work together with Public Health Units and the Ministry of Education when managing a positive COVID-19 case.
The Ministry of Health has made changes to the contact tracing process that allows those at risk to be accurately identified and if vaccinated (with the two doses) to spend a shorter time period in isolation. In the event of a positive case, early learning services must identify and categorise contacts, capture this information in a spreadsheet (see Appendix One of the toolkit) and provide the spreadsheet to the National Investigation and Tracing Centre (NITC). Current situation Aotearoa moves to the traffic light system at 11:59pm this Thursday, 2 December. Today, there are 149 new cases in the community:
Covid Response Minister, Chris Hipkins, and Director-General of Health, Ashely Bloomfield, provided more information about the Pfizer vaccine for children, which will roll out early next year. 20% of cases in the current outbreak have been under 12 years, and the “vast majority of cases” has been from household transmission, not from schools or early learning centres. Traffic Light Settings for Rohe Vaccination rates are one of the key considerations under the traffic light levels for each rohe. Some other considerations include the capacity of the health and disability system, covid transmission, and the impact of the virus on vulnerable populations. Red: Northland, Auckland, Taupō and Rotorua Districts, Kawerau, Whakatane, Ōpōtiki Districts, Gisborne District, Wairoa District, Rangitikei, Whanganui, and Ruapehu Districts. Orange: The rest of the North and South Island. Cabinet will review the settings and provide an update on Monday, 13 December. The next update by Ministers will be on Monday, 17 January, and will continue on a fortnightly basis. Traffic Light Settings for Kōhanga Reo The Ministry of Education (MoE) has announced that from Friday, 3 December, all ECE and Kōhanga Reo can open with kaimahi and mokopuna onsite for education and care. The same public health measures will remain in place: good hygiene and cleaning practices, contact tracing, vaccination requirements for kaimahi (paid and unpaid), stay home and get tested if sick, good ventilation. Contact tracing and case management remains critical with contacts being identified, self-isolating, and getting tested. Physical distancing is not required at any setting of the framework, but at the red setting, the MoE recommends keeping a 1 metre distance between adults when inside, and where practicable. Events, where additional adults and children will be attending, will need to align with gathering requirements for the relevant traffic light settings at each region. Red settings for Kōhanga Reo: Ministry of Education Guidelines Today there was an adjustment in the Ministry guidelines, mokopuna are now able to attend 2 different Kōhanga Reo under the Red setting, you may consider this option if you have a Kōhanga Reo that is caring for mokopuna of essential workers or do not have the appropriate ratios. This option is not obvious at any other light setting. However, we must be vigilant to these changes as they happen. For more guidance, please read the MoE’s COVID-19 Protection Framework here. There is currently no Green Light region. Vaccination Rates of Māori by DHB
Māori Statistics to reach 90% For the Māori roll- so far 470,200 first doses (82%) and 391,847 second doses (69%).of total Māori 571,052 Pānui Reminders All our pānui are uploaded to our Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust website. You can access our past pānui here. For any further assistance, ring 0800 KOHANGA or 0800 564 2642 Whāia te oranga i roto i te haumarutanga o te nohotahi. Nāku noa, Angus Hartley Tumu Whakarae | Chief Executive |