Luke Kirkness: What has happened to the team of five million?

Opinion:

This should not have happened.

Tauranga port workers deserve better. We, the public, deserve better too but are we being too quick to blame others before looking inward?

On Monday, it was revealed crew of the container ship Rio de la Plata, which had been berthed in Tauranga within the past week, had tested positive for Covid-19.

Port workers had also been on the vessel and, subsequently, 98 of those workers employed by a Port of Tauranga contractor were forced to self-isolate and get tested.

Health officials said yesterday from 110 tests undertaken, negative results had been returned for 109 port workers. The other is being retested as the result was inconclusive but is considered low risk.

The vessel had previously been flagged as a Covid-19 risk.

The Rio de la Plata, at anchor off the Bay of Plenty. Photo / George Novak

We might have dodged a bullet — something that has happened in this country time and time again.

In many cases, we've learnt from those mistakes and rules have been tweaked or extra tests undertaken but something seems amiss here.

How the Rio de la Plata was granted permission to berth and unload at the Port of Tauranga remains unclear.

Much has been sacrificed since the start of last year when the world ground to a screaming halt and everyday life was flipped on its head.

We've been through lockdowns, isolated ourselves from the rest of the world, families have been separated, others have missed birthdays and funerals.

Twenty-six people who had Covid-19 in New Zealand have died. For some the virus was not the sole contributing factor.

The rest of the world hasn't been so fortunate. In Australia, cities and states are being forced to enter snap lockdowns as new outbreaks rage on.

In my view, this Rio de la Plata situation is an utter bungle.

Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. Photo / Mark Mitchell

But I wonder if we, the public, also need to be doing more.

When was the last time you used your Covid-19 tracer app? I have been awful at using it and reckon it'd be a safe bet to assume many others haven't been either.

As the vaccine rollout makes its way across the country, are we falling into a false sense of security in assuming the vice-like grip Covid-19 has on the world is starting to loosen?

Remember what director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield told us in June:
"This pandemic is probably not even halfway through."

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern drove home the idea about a team of five million early in New Zealand's response to the virus.

On the whole, it worked damn well for us.

We need to return to that same frame of mind. We're all responsible for doing our part in protecting the community by looking inward - as well as outward - when assessing our response to the pandemic.