From tomorrow, there is no limit on outdoor gatherings and the limit for indoor events increases from 100 to 200 people. But health experts have urged people to attend events safely and think about the families they would return home to.
Latest figures from the Ministry of Health this afternoon show community cases of Covid are down, with 15,871 new cases nationally (down from 18,423 yesterday), 899 people in hospital and 13 new deaths to report.
Dr Andrew Old, the Chief Clinical Officer for the Northern Region Health Coordination Centre, The Fono's chief executive officer Tevita Funaki, Southseas' chief executive Lemalu Silao Vaisola and Southpoint Family Doctors' Dr Fiona Shepherd gave a Covid-19 update at Mangere's Malaeola Community Centre in Auckland this afternoon.
Old said while cases were coming down "quite steeply", everyone should protect themselves with masks and social distancing. He said "past the peak doesn't mean out of the woods" and reminded people there were thousands of new cases per day.
Case numbers had declined consistently for two weeks in Auckland and are a third of what they were at the peak of the outbreak. New hospital admissions were falling but still around 100 people per day were being admitted in the northern regions.
Old said people should enjoy the weekend - but stay home if sick and get a test - and report that test result.
"With greater mixing comes greater risk."
We are all interconnected - so while people were out there making decisions for themselves, Old urged people to think of those more vulnerable.
The health system would continue to be challenged for some time. The pressures continued to be "coming off" but they were still significant.
Support for Pacific families
Old said Pacific people had made up about 28 per cent of Omicron cases during this outbreak. But those case numbers peaked at 50 per cent.
They made up 43 per cent of hospitalisations - but this peaked at over 60 per cent.
Funaki said the pandemic continued to hit Pacific peoples hard - more than 70,000 had contracted the virus since August last year.
Support continued for churches and communities with pop up events. They were continuing to support the NRHHC to in turn support those isolating at home. There were daily check-ins of those in the high priority groups.
A Pacific model of care, which was developed for Delta, was again deployed for Omicron.
Shepherd said each day, teams at a hub determined what level of care families needed. Some families required a daily call or in other cases they may need food or welfare support.
It was a well oiled, collaborative and coordinated approach, she said.
"We know that the pandemic has hit many Pacific peoples really hard. As a GP, I see just how hard it is for families."
While people were most likely excited to attend big sports events this weekend, she urged people to do so safely and think about the families they would return home to.
On reports that families are struggling and whether support for Pasifika families had been enough, Old said the sheer volume of cases had been challenging and the support provided by Pacific providers had been good.
Funaki said there were levels of anxiety among Pasifika families. Funaki said the goal was to connect with impacted families with 24 hours.
They were also particularly mindful of Pacific people living on their own.
Funaki said it remained to be seen whether there was a long tail in terms of impact on Pacific families.
