Dr Rawiri Taonui: On 8 September modelling by this researcher showed that if the government did not reduce the number of arrivals into New Zealand there would be another breach at the border or in Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) leading to a further Covid-19 outbreak in October or November. Since then, there have been two such breaches on 13 and 19 September..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: Two days ago, the official number of Covid-19 cases worldwide passed 30 million. The last 10 million came in 38 days over four times faster than the 154 days for the first 10 million..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: Unfortunately, the Ministry of Health has reported a third death in the Māori-Pacific Cluster in Auckland. He was Māori, aged in his 50s and the brother of the first man to die in this outbreak also in his 50s..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: Breaches of our border and Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) protocols will lead to further outbreaks in the community if we do not cap the number of the arrivals coming across the border..Read more

There is a greater risk to New Zealand from the high number of arrivals and active cases entering at the border than there is from the Auckland OutBreak. If we do not address numbers crossing our border, there is a risk of a third wave arriving in October/November..Read more

This column examines six scenarios for the source of the Auckland OutBreak. Searching for the source of the 11 August Covid-19 Auckland Outbreak is an important part of halting the spread of the virus. It is also important for understanding how to minimise future outbreaks. Integral to this is understanding the parameters and limitations of swab tests, genome sequencing and serology tests..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: The Auckland region moved to Alert Level 2 at 11:59 pm on Sunday 30 August 2020. This column advised that over the next seven to ten days there was a risk of transfer to other parts of the country the principal areas of risk being by road travel to the Waikato and Te Tai Tokerau..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: Being able to estimate accurate numbers in the Covid-19 pandemic informs us of the scale of the disease outbreak and how it will impact on the global community.Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: A Debacle at the Border:Politicking over our border security is masking the search for the source case of the Auckland OutBreak..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: The official total of World Covid-19 cases passed 24 million yesterday. While ever-rising numbers are concerning, the rate of new cases has begun to flatten out with new cases staying between 200,000 and 290,00 each day since 5 July..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: Today the total number of Covid-19 cases worldwide went past 23 million. Total deaths went past 800,000. Even if the current rate of increase continued without further escalation then the world is facing 56 million cases and 1.5 million deaths by the end of the year..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: New Zealand has a total of 1,665 cases. 72 cases have arrived at our borders since 17 June. There are 89 cases associated with the Auckland outbreak. Between cases at the border and Auckland, there are 105 active cases..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: The Second Wave - The Covid-19 outbreak in Auckland is disproportionally impacting Māori and Pacific communities..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: During an interview with Waatea News on 15 July, this writer predicted a second wave of Covid-19 in New Zealand ‘probably within a month’..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: The New Zealand campaign against the first wave of Covid-19 eliminated the virus in 100 days. The first case was notified on 28 February, we closed our borders on 18 March, imposed a comprehensive Level 4 lockdown on 26 March, the last new case was notified on 22 May and the last active case recovered on 7 June..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: New Zealand fought a remarkably successful campaign against the First Wave of Covid-19. Our first case was notified on 28 February. Imposing border restrictions on 18 March was key.

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The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, has said that over the last five centuries the most reliable Indigenous strategy to protect our vulnerable communities against the familiar foe of a foreign introduced disease is the ability to isolate. She believes this is still the best strategy today with Covid-19..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield have announced we will move to Level 1 tonight Monday 8 June at midnight. This means all restrictions on business, social gatherings and sports are lifted. Border controls will remain in place..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: The latest data to 27 May shows improved testing of Māori and Pacific communities. The National Average for testing by ethnic group is 50 tests per1000 people. An acceptable range is +/- 20% of that figure (between 40 to 60 people per1000 of the population)..Read more

THE NEW ZEALAND SITUATION: The main figures inspire confidence that New Zealand has gained a good degree of control over COVID-19..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: This update assesses the numbers and risk of a second wave as we move further into Level 2. Cafes, bars, gyms, restaurants, and cinemas were opened on 14 May. Schools open tomorrow. Bars will re-open starting 21 May. The main risk of a second wave lies in the five large urban DHBs (Waitematā, Auckland, Counties Manukau, Waikato, and Canterbury). There is a risk to Māori and Pacific communities in those centres..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: The numbers give good news on the last day of Level 3. On the first day of ZERO new cases (4 May), I suggested we needed many more ZERO new case days and active cases below 50 before we could move confidently from Level 3..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: Balancing the economy and people, and in the shadow of undertesting non-European communities, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that New Zealand is moving to Level 2. As predicted in this update, we will start moving to Level 2 this Thursday 14 May..Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: There are ZERO new Māori cases today. The total stays at 126. There have been 17 ZERO days since 12 April and only 1 new case in the last 10 days. The 10-day trend runs: 0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0. The lower trend for Māori relates to more Māori living outside of the regions of our largest DHBs.Read more

Dr Rawiri Taonui: There are ZERO new Māori cases today. The total stays at 126. The 10-day trend runs: 1-0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0. Maori have had 16 ZERO days since 12 April. This is testament to the tremendous effort of Māori protecting communities, looking after the vulnerable and standing on checkpoints.Read more