There were 2150 close contacts and 3775 casual plus contacts identified during the outbreak. The new contact categories were developed for “what boiled down to only two extra requirements”. The extra complexity for only two changes was “excessive”, the advisory group found. Individuals in an outbreak simply need to know if they are a close or casual contact and what, during that particular outbreak, is expected of them. While the new categories were supposed to increase clarity, “ironically, they facilitated blurring of the boundaries” between them, “increasing confusion” – such as when 1600 casual contacts were relabelled close contacts. At the time, the Ministry of Health said the additional classification of casual plus helps “provide flexibility in terms of the public health response to public exposure events as well as help standardise the approach for health services”.
Covid-19: Review of February cluster review finds Govt failed to learn lessons
Papatoetoe High School was at the centre of the Auckland February cluster. (Photo / File)
Covid-19: Review of February cluster review finds Govt failed to learn lessons Thu, 8 Jul 2021, 1:46PM
A review of the February Covid outbreak found a lack of coherency among central agencies, conflicting messaging that could undermine public confidence, and a Government that had failed to learn the lessons of past reviews.
The February review - by the independent advisory group chaired by Sir Brian Roche - also found a lack of stress-testing the system, and ongoing uncertainty about the system s ability to handle a large outbreak.
Fran O Sullivan: Covid reveals too many empty chairs
7 May, 2021 05:00 PM
5 minutes to read
OPINION: Rob Campbell has fired a serve at company chairs and directors who refused to sign a joint letter to the Government calling for greater transparency on Covid, saying they were protecting their own arses and doing a major disservice to their communities.
Campbell who chairs SkyCity, Tourism Holdings and Summerset was among five listed company chairs who went public in early March calling for more openness and clarity from the Government on its plan for getting New Zealand to Covid normal . There were people who were directors and chairs of companies who didn t have the balls to sign the letter, Campbell told the Institute of Directors 2021 leadership conference on Thursday. That were worried about reaction, about being penalised, about being scapegoated.
Covid 19 coronavirus: New advisory group to help Government with Covid decisions nzherald.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nzherald.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
An early piece of advice we d like is about what types of considerations feed into the decision about vaccine coverage targets, and whether they re helpful at all.” The group will be asked to consider whether there needs to be specific targets for coverage across the country’s regions, or ethnic and age groups, before the border can open. The Government has so far been reluctant to put a figure on how much of the population it wants to be vaccinated. The experts will also be asked to provide a view on models of the virus’ potential spread, report on the international evidence on how effective the vaccines were at blocking transmission of the virus, and advise on the risk to the non-immunised population.