Is the Government Reading the Room?

Next week, Cabinet will review the Covid traffic light setting, and, if they are sensible, they will drop the vaccine and mask mandates and return New Zealand to normal.

As I travel around the country, I notice more and more people are not wearing masks, including in supermarkets, cafes, restaurants and on flights. Many will have a mask exemption – but I doubt all will. Getting a mask exemption is not difficult – it is a box ticking exercise – tick the box that you have a medical condition, and that is it, no medical certificate is required.

Friends who have recently returned from Europe told me that the first time they had to put on a mask was when they boarded an Air New Zealand flight home.

Vaccination mandates have been a bone of contention, particularly for those who work in the sectors covered by them, such as education, NZDF, Police and medical and healthcare. Many medical professionals in New Zealand are fully vaccinated – that is, they have received two doses of the vaccine – but are prohibited from working because they don’t want a third dose, having experienced significant adverse reactions with the second. I do not blame them, I wouldn’t either.

While I am not an expert, there does not seem to be any valid reason for these people not to be able to work; we are desperately short of medical staff. They are willing to be tested before each shift: it is madness that they are being prevented from doing so, and we the public are paying the price with needless delays for medical care.

Mandates were introduced through the Covid-19 Response (Vaccinations) Legislation Bill, and while the Prime Minister gave the impression that mandates were needed to prevent the spread of Covid-19, that was not the case. Section 11AA of the Bill clarifies the mandates were being introduced to maintain ‘trust in the public service’ and ‘ensure the continuity of public services’.  Not to prevent the spread of Covid in the community.

In February Justice Cooke released his High Court ruling that the mandates imposed on Police and the Armed Forces were illegal. He revealed that the Ministry of Health had opposed the mandates and advised government that further mandates were not required to restrict the spread of Covid-19.

Whatever the reason for the mandates order, their usefulness has passed, and we must move on. I know there will be people with compromised immune systems who will be concerned for their health, but they can protect themselves by wearing a mask.

In fact, our Pandemic Plan – the plan we had before the outbreak of Covid 19 – was predicated on protecting the vulnerable, not restricting the entire population.

It is time to return to normal. I hope that the government is reading the room.