What life looks like with endemic Covid
A new report examines the reality of endemic Covid and how we might prepare for it ahead of a review of traffic light settings due this week.
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Thursday, June 16, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: Navy's largest ship joining RIMPAC; children’s commissioner role to be disestablished; what’s going on with milk; but first, a new report on the realities of endemic Covid.
A review of traffic light settings is due this week (Image / Getty)
A new era of infectious disease mortality
A new report from Newsroom’s Marc Daalder posits that not only is Covid not over, it’s just getting started. According to Covid modeller Michael Plank, there’s a fair chance the virus will exist in a tricky space between something like the flu and the existential threat it’s represented over the last two years – becoming endemic, yet still deadly. Reflecting on the history of infectious diseases like polio, smallpox and tuberculosis, Daalder writes that endemic Covid may kill more people than infectious diseases have in decades. It’s a weighty piece but I think it does a good job of both confronting some evidential realities and representing the confusing state of flux we’re currently in.
Long-term war with the virus
Speaking with experts, Daalder says it’s possible that Covid will kill three to six times more people a year than seasonal influenza. He writes, “A permanent presence from Covid-19 means we are now in a long-term war with the virus. Reinfections will become the norm – a never-ending battle against an ever-evolving foe.” As the Herald’s Jamie Morton reports, Auckland's Te Whānau o Waipareira Trust is seeing families being reinfected with Covid-19 for the third time. This has prompted a warning about being extra vigilant this winter.
Out of sight, out of mind not a luxury for all
For those who have been extra vigilant to the point of taking their lunch breaks in their cars to avoid bringing the virus home from work to immuno-compromised children, constant “take care of yourself” or vigilance messages are cold comfort. I completely understand the desire to move on and that people are sick of reading about Covid. I genuinely don’t think that it is motivated by callousness in many people but something quite human. It is, however, a perspective that you're more entitled to if you're reasonably well. If you read this from Emily Writes, about the lengths people with sick kids or family members are going to to avoid the virus, you come to understand how Covid is definitely not over for those who can’t dismiss it out of sight.
Pre-departure tests gone by Monday
Meanwhile, the dismantling of Covid protocols continues. The Herald is reporting this morning that pre-departure tests for incoming visitors will be gone by next Monday. The government is planning to scrap Covid legislation. We are also due a review of the current traffic light setting this week. I’m not making any bets on whether it will change and I know there are many who want to get to green and many who will be anxious about the dropping of remaining restrictions. All I’ll say is that there is something analogous about living in orange at the moment as some of us remain necessarily hesitant before we go anywhere, while others try to beat the red and get to the next destination.
Together with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, the second episode in The Spinoff Podcast Network’s new series Going Global, is out now. This week co-hosts Brianne West, founder and CEO of international beauty brand Ethique, and Business is Boring’s Simon Pound talk to New Zealand fashion industry icon Karen Walker.For more than 30 years, Walker has built her brand and business globally, known for clever design, adventurous collaborations, imaginative storytelling and constantly redefining approach to retail. Listen to Going Global on The Spinoff Podcast Network.
NZ navy’s largest ship to take part in the world's largest military exercise.
RIMPAC, a short hand for military exercises that take place around the Pacific Rim, gets underway at the end of June. Led by the US military, it is quite literally a war game involving 26 countries, including New Zealand. Stuff’s Thomas Manch reports that the navy's new and largest ship, the tanker Aotearoa, will join the exercise. The Aotearoa will remain in the Asia-Pacific region for nearly six months. The exercise will also involve five countries that border the South China Sea, an area that has been a continuous source of strained relations between Washington and Beijing in recent years.
Scrapping of the children’s commissioner role opposed by Green party
The Green party has reiterated its opposition to proposed legislation that would see the children’s commissioner replaced by a board in its monitoring of Oranga Tamariki. RNZ’s Kathryn Ryan spoke with children’s commissioner Frances Eivers and minister for social development Carmel Sepuloni about it yesterday. Eivers is very unhappy. It does seem particularly jarring for this to be happening in the same week as the Royal Commission into Abuse in State Care. Eivers said the committee should first have waited for the final report from the Commission. “Did we really want to listen to their insights?” she questioned. ”Because we are still designing new legislation without even waiting to hear them.” Children's rights academic, Luke Fitzmaurice unpacks the problems with the Oranga Tamariki oversight bill on the Spinoff this morning.
A vital message from The Spinoff’s publisher, Duncan Greive
If you’re reading this, you’re hopefully getting value out of The Spinoff. Yet like many publishers, The Spinoff has suffered a significant drop in members, despite our costs continuing to increase. On one level I understand why our membership has dropped away. There’s a cost of living crisis, and inflation has made life hard for many of us. It’s totally normal to feel like you don’t need to support your local media organisation at a time like this.
The promise we’re making to you is that we’re actually better-suited to times like this than the pandemic itself. Our plan is to return to something more of what made us – coverage of culture, politics, te ao Māori and more with heart and humour. We will do that with features, essays and opinion pieces, but also podcasts, comics, video and newsletters. We are here to help walk you through this fascinating new era, and feel well-suited to being your guide.
But we can’t do it without you. The Spinoff has been cut out of the government’s enormous $100m plus Covid-19 campaign, which has been a boon to the big media companies and social media platforms. We returned the wage subsidy, unlike almost every other media organisation. The public interest journalism fund was narrowly targeted and is winding down. The big tech companies are refusing to do what they did in Australia and make meaningful deals with local media. And the recessionary drums continue to beat loudly, impacting the commercial spend we rely on, along with you, our members.
All of which is to say that we need your support more than we ever have. So please, if you can, click here to support The Spinoff by becoming a member today.
The deal with milk
Big read from Stuff’s Charlie Mitchell this morning on proposed legislation that will increase Fonterra’s market share and make it harder for smaller entities in the market to compete. As Mitchell writes: “Sometimes, the Government wants to fight the climate crisis, improve freshwater quality, and address the rising costs of household essentials. Then there are other times, where it enthusiastically supports a move that would expand the power of our largest near-monopoly, increase the dairy industry’s environmental hoofprint, and, for good measure, likely raise the price of dairy products.” Milk production is flatlining and will fall while Fonterra’s market dominance has been slipping. The government's logic is that a strong Fonterra is a good thing during times of economic uncertainty.
Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz
The biggest deal in our media in years was announced just last week. Last night it fell apart. Duncan Greive explains why. Shanti Mathias finds out how the look of a wedding is changing in the Instagram age. Sarah Laing grapples with the impending demise of Wellington literary institution Vic Books. Tara Ward discovers a new daytime TV appointment that's basically Wordle: The Game Show.
Tongan community take proactive approach ahead of league international
Ahead of the Kiwi vs Mate Ma'a Tonga league game at Mt Smart stadium in Auckland on June 25, the Tongan community are meeting to discuss concerns about gang violence. Youth leader Simulata Pope said the community is concerned that Tongan youth have been involved in many gang-related incidents in past years and they are worried the game will be marred by gang violence. They will hold a fono (a word used in Pacific countries for a meeting) on Friday. CEO of Tonga Youth Trust, Rev. Ikilifi Pope said “Our silence may be taken the wrong way so we must draw the line so our youth know where we stand."
Work with us
We're on the lookout for a senior news editor (nine month maternity cover) for the Spinoff and our sister studio also has a few vacancies — learn more here.
