When it comes to Omicron, New Zealand has an enormous advantage. We heard with trepidation about its arrival in South Africa late last year. Then the UK started reporting thousands of cases. Then Australia did the same. The numbers were eye-watering. Over 50,000 cases in Australia in a single day. This must have been the doomsayer’s dream… literally thousands of people are going down with the disease. But just as they were rubbing their hands with unbridled glee, more news came out of South Africa. Yes, Omicron is very contagious, but… it is very much less deadly than either the Alpha or Delta variants. So much so that case numbers might be high, but COVID deaths dropped like the proverbial stone. Omicron, it turned out, was nothing more than a cold. For most, it was a mild cold at that.
Britain soon started reporting much the same findings. Again, there were lots of cases, but the hospitals coped and the number of deaths dropped dramatically. Could this be – dare we even think it – the beginning of the end of the pandemic?
Then, news started to filter out from the UK that the number of COVID deaths had been grossly overstated and that, in fact, the true number of deaths from the actual disease was more like 17,500, rather than the 153,500 deaths reported to the WHO.
Suddenly, the whole narrative seemed to be falling apart.
How could the numbers be so grossly exaggerated? Well, this might be because countries were encouraged to report all deaths of people who had COVID, whether or not it was the actual cause of death. We know from our own list of COVID deaths that one of them was a man shot dead in the street but, because he tested positive for COVID posthumously (yes, they test corpses for COVID), he was counted as a COVID death. Yes, it is all completely crazy, but the fact that it caused the UK to overreport their COVID deaths by approximately 136,000 is mind-boggling. The true situation with the pandemic has been grossly overstated, presumably to keep the people in fear – and in a lot of cases, it has worked very well.
But as Omicron hits our shores, we are in a good position to take it in our stride. It is summer and a hot one at that. We know what has happened overseas, and we expect a rise in cases, but for the number of deaths to fall away rapidly. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that this is anything to do with vaccination rates because the CEO of Pfizer himself has admitted that its vaccines are largely ineffective against Omicron. Britain didn’t introduce new restrictions for Omicron; nor did Australia, and both countries are doing just fine. So, we’ll be fine too… won’t we?
In come the prophets of doom – right on cue:
Along comes the pink-haired wonder, spreading panic when none is needed. Let’s not pretend that she is not aware of what has happened overseas with Omicron. She knows perfectly well, but the pandemic has brought her fame, and no doubt fortune, and we can’t let it all go, can we?
She is not alone, of course.
How can it be less severe for people but more severe for the country? The fact that he tells us this with a big smile on his face suggests his agenda is not about protecting the public… it is about protecting his public profile and his newly found wealth.
And of course, TV1 is pushing the message of gloom like it is going out of fashion. What else would you expect?
The really bad news is that isolation periods have just gotten worse than they ever were. If you are living with someone who has caught Omicron, you will have to isolate for 24 days. Yes, I am not kidding.
For the weakest variant of the pandemic so far, you will have to isolate for 10 days longer than for any of the other variants. Seriously.
As you can see, our government has not given up on the panic yet. We are not going back into lockdown (yet), but if you are exposed to the Omicron variant, you have to isolate for a ridiculously long time even though countries that have already suffered Omicron have managed with just about no restrictions at all.
But then what do you expect from the only country in the world that prohibits its own citizens from coming home, but lets in DJs, The Wiggles, Ru Paul and celebrity wedding guests?
I am just waiting for more panic from the other two doom merchants, Michael Baker and Shaun Hendy, although Baker may be in a bit of trouble with our esteemed prime minister after admitting that the traffic light system was nothing to do with protection, but was designed to put pressure on people to get vaccinated.
Baker said the traffic light system, along with contact tracing and vaccination, had worked well so far because they were adapted for the Delta variant – and had largely achieved its goal of getting adults vaccinated.
NZ Herald
That became obvious when Northland was kept at red until last Thursday even though it had no cases of COVID. Still, the prime minister didn’t like the truth being outed and issued a statement contradicting Baker. In this instance, I believe Baker over Jacinda.
Spare a thought for the people of Northland. They have been treated very badly. They finally came out of Code Red last Thursday only to go back into it at 11.59 pm on Sunday.
So prepare to be locked down and locked out for longer and longer. The politicians, the media and the prophets of doom have too much riding on the pandemic to let it go without a massive fight.
Omicron may be milder, it may be much less deadly, but that is not what matters. Controlling the population by fear is the modus operandi now.
And for the prophets of doom, it has brought fame and fortune. Why let that go without a fight?