Returning to school - our children need to be there full-time. Photo / Alex Burton
OPINION:
Last week I found myself sitting in yet another Google Hangouts meeting with our senior leadership team at Tend, this time talking about our plans for next year — including the possibility of moving into a new office space.
Unfortunately, online meetings have become all too common in the past two years, more so in the past three months, as Auckland businesses have been forced to operate virtually — only communicating with their teams through computer screens.
And while lockdown is helping support the growth of some businesses, it is having a devastating impact on many more that can't easily pivot.
These businesses will be heading into Christmas desperately hoping next year will be different. The reality, however, is that we're heading into another year of uncertainty.
That is why I kept emphasising to my team that "we need to prepare for the world we live in, rather than the world we want to live in". While we all desperately want to believe that next year will be better, the truth is that we are a long way from returning to life as normal.
We just need to look around the world to see what is happening. Yes, there are some glimpses of hope but there are more signs of realism — we are still a long way from learning how to live with the virus.
Cases are increasing rapidly in the UK, the US and Germany, while the Netherlands and Austria are now implementing lockdowns for the unvaccinated.
A good place to see what our future might look like is Denmark, which has a similar population and has achieved high vaccination rates.
In September, Denmark lifted its remaining domestic Covid restrictions, with the Danish Government announcing that the virus was no longer "an illness which is a critical threat to society". Now Denmark is facing a fresh wave of Covid, with daily infections increasing from 200 a day to about 2300.
As a result, the Danish Government is now considering implementing new restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, through the use of vaccine passports.
We need to learn the lessons of Denmark's experience. But that is not to say that we shouldn't ease restrictions.
In fact, we must urgently move to the traffic light system and enable businesses to reopen. It beggars belief that we are not already there, with Aucklanders at breaking point, exasperated by the extended lockdown.
However, as we move to the traffic light system we need to ensure Auckland, New Zealand's economic hub, is never again brought to its knees.
And this means the Government must guarantee no more lockdowns for vaccinated people.
Those of us who have chosen to be vaccinated have undertaken our civic duty. We have answered the call to play our role in protecting our health system.
Because that's what this has all been about — the inability of our health system to cope with a seriously ill population as Covid would overwhelm our hospitals.
But we can no longer be punished, or have our liberties taken away, because a small minority have chosen not to do their part.
They have made their choice not to be vaccinated, as is their right. But the majority can no longer be asked to protect those who are not willing to protect themselves.
Alongside never locking down vaccinated Kiwis again, we must urgently get all children permanently back to school. This is not currently the case in Auckland, with most schools only going back part-time.
The past two years have done untold damage to our young people. They have become the Covid generation — told to keep their distance, to not hug their grandparents and avoid socialising with their friends.
And their education has suffered, missing out on important interactions and sporting opportunities that are critical to their development.
Our two school-age children have been home learning since August, and while schools in Auckland have restarted, most children are only allowed back at school a couple of days per week.
This means, from mid-August to February, our children will have spent only 10 days physically at school. This is outrageous and we shouldn't accept this as the new norm.
This is not okay.
All children need to urgently revert to normal, in-person teaching and be able to reconnect with their friends and teachers.
But with a 6-week-old at home, our biggest concern with our children going back to school has been ensuring they don't bring Covid back with them.
Therefore, to make this transition easier, and help allay the fears of worried parents, we should be able to test our children and ourselves for Covid regularly and easily.
This doesn't mean we need to be doing PCR tests on all children. Putting a stick up a child's nose is not only uncomfortable, it is unnecessary.
There is no reason why we can't have widespread use of saliva testing available in New Zealand right now. This testing is common internationally but still has only limited availability in New Zealand.
Why? Because like the vaccination programme, the Government has been slow to approve it. Even now, it is only being trialled with vague promises of wider availability over summer. Yet if I was in Melbourne or Sydney, I could buy one of these tests in a supermarket.
There is simply no reason why these tests shouldn't be readily available right now in Auckland to provide another layer of protection to Kiwis ahead of easing restrictions.
We must understand and embrace the idea that not everything we do needs to be world leading. Often good enough is good enough.
Finally, we need to be taking urgent action to strengthen our healthcare system — not just to cope with the influx of Covid cases that we will inevitably see over the coming months, but to continue providing treatment to all those who need it.
That means no longer delaying cancer screening and elective surgeries. If people are sick and need treatment, our health system must be in the position to provide it.
Unfortunately, we have squandered the head start we've been given.
Not only will we see more people die from Covid, but we will see Kiwis die because they did not receive treatment soon enough for otherwise treatable conditions.
Without a guarantee that lockdowns will no longer be used for vaccinated people, that our children can return to school permanently and that we're able to strengthen our healthcare system, the Government will continue to experience growing discontent in 2022.
As for that new office space for Tend, I think it's safe to say we will delay any decisions until we see what the world we live in holds next year.
- Cecilia Robinson is the founder and co-CEO of health startup Tend.
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