It’s been ten months since the Government’s own
experts said ‘all efforts’ should be made to introduce
saliva testing as soon as possible, but the Government has
delayed the roll out yet again, National’s Covid-19
Response spokesperson Chris Bishop says.
Covid-19
Response Minister Chris Hipkins today announced an
‘expansion’ of saliva testing, an announcement that is
remarkably similar to the last time he announced a saliva
testing expansion back on 26 May this year.
“In May
Minister Hipkins said saliva testing would commence ‘as
part of a phased roll out beginning in June’,” Mr Bishop
says.
“Today the Minister announced that saliva
It’s taken far too long for the Government move on saliva testing at the border but National welcomes the announcement nonetheless, National’s Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop says. “National has been pushing for the Government to include saliva .
“The Government’s slowness to move on saliva
testing for our border workers is staggering.
“There
could be up to 20,000 people working at out border, yet just
339 saliva tests have been carried out over the past four
months.
“The Roche/Simpson report from September
last year said ‘all efforts should be made to introduce
saliva testing as soon as possible as part of the range of
testing methods being conducted’.
“It took another
four months for the Government to move to introduce
voluntary saliva testing but it’s still only used in three
MIQ hotels.
“Answers to written questions reveal
Andrew Dickens: Emergency housing issues another example of public sector failure
(Photo / 123RF)
The sorry saga of New Zealand’s use of motel units as emergency housing stuttered on today.
This time it was Ministry of Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni waffling away about how much wrap around care is provided to those in the housing.
Asked about the cost of damage to the units caused by tenants she claimed it was impossible to calculate as the MSD accounting systems were, quote, “too clunky”.
This spurred a flurry of angry incredulous texts and calls regarding what seemed to be a laissez faire attitude towards taxpayers money. One texter asked if MSD had heard of Excel or any other proprietary applications. Landlords always know exactly how much money has been spent on repairs. It’s their money after all and it’s tax deductible maintenance.
Andrew Dickens: Ministry of Health must shoulder the blame for Covid failures
Ashley Bloomfield is the Director-General of Health. (Photo / NZ Herald)
Andrew Dickens: Ministry of Health must shoulder the blame for Covid failures Mon, 19 Apr 2021, 1:35PM
Listening to the blamestorm over MIQ last week I thought the universe had tipped on its axis.
There was our poverty defeating socialist Prime Minister, punching down on a minimum wage frontline worker and bemoaning his lack of accountability and accusing him of lying..
Meanwhile, a cohort of neo-liberal, conservative right wingers were busy defending the honour of the man because he was among our most vulnerable who was being attacked by our most powerful.