The Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall confirmed yesterday afternoon (Monday 14/08) that New Zealand will be ditching all remaining Covid-19 restrictions as of 12:01 am on Tuesday (15/08), just as reported cases and hospitalisations are trending back up.
The latest “recorded” weekly Covid statistics show that we’ve had 5372 new cases in the past week, that’s 763 more cases than the previous seven-day rolling average.
I say recorded because I am well aware of a number of people who have not reported their positive RAT tests and it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that the number is in reality higher, but maybe we shouldn’t go there as I’m not into conspiracy theories.
Now don’t get me wrong I’m all for reducing the amount of laws and regulations that often confound us – But in this case I’m just a tad concerned, especially for those of us with health issues. As all too often we are unfortunately not in a position to protect ourselves from becoming infected, by others, especially if one can’t wear a mask.
With the seven-day isolation rule to stay at home if you’ve tested positive removed, it certainly increases the risk for immunocompromised people like myself. The government now only ‘recommends‘ that if you test positive to stay at home for five days if you’re unwell.
If my observations of the past few months or so is anything to go by, an increasing number of people are going to work when they have obvious signs of being sick and don’t even give it a second thought.
The she’ll be right attitude has certainly made a come back.
The thing is, there appears to be a disregard by some towards those of us that may be at risk of getting infected from ‘any’ kind of respiratory illness, be it Covid or the flu etc.
Also with the mask-wearing mandate being removed, it’ll be even harder for workplaces to eliminate or minimise the risk of infecting people like me. Even though Verrall has said that mask-wearing remained an important way to prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses, if people don’t give it a second thought and simply won’t wear them, how does that protect others like me?
In Derek Cheng’s article for the NZ Herald he writes that “Otago University epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker said today’s decision was a “missed opportunity” to build on what he saw as one of the pandemic’s key lessons. “That is, if you’re sick with a respiratory illness, you need to take responsibility and isolate yourself, and it’s not okay just to go to work, school or social events and infect others.””
Given that the World Health Organisation has recently declared a new sub-variant of Covid called EG.5, which has unofficially been named “Eris” a concern and has asked countries to monitor it as cases grow globally, those of us who are immunocompromised should remain as careful and vigilant as we can be when venturing out.
It is important that people remember that Covid-19 is still “out there” and think about what they can do to mitigate their risk and potentially passing it on.
Unfortunately seeing as Scleroderma has affected my lungs I’m unable to wear a mask and in a few weeks time I will again be having another round of Rituximab infusions which further compromises my immune system – which on one level, in and of itself is enough of a concern. It doesn’t stop me from getting out and about – but it does mean I need to be extra careful and avoid certain situations and places that would put me at risk.
Therefore, I feel that it is still important and worth staying at home if you have any flu-like symptoms, socially distancing where you can when out and about, wearing a mask during interactions with others (where you can), and ensuring that your vaccinations are up to date (if you can have them).
For people like me, we will need to continue being extremely vigilant and reduce our chances of being infected with Covid, let alone any of the other respiratory illnesses that are prevalent in the community.
So, I hope you can all appreciate these concerns as the world returns to business as usual / normal.
Many Blessings 🙂
The life and times of Perry... 