Covid-19 Omicron outbreak: $140 million to support Māori and Pacific health providers

Just over $140 million will be given to Māori and Pasifika health providers to help those communities hit the hardest in the current Covid outbreak.

The Government has announced the boost to help some of the most vulnerable communities to the virus and whose people are now disproportionately represented in the Omicron wave.

Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare said officials were committed to making sure those vulnerable families received the support and care they deserve.

"With Omicron cases increasing, it is important whānau have the support they need to self-isolate and stop the spread of the virus."

Pacific church and community leaders are being praised for their work to help the community during Covid times. Photo / Michael Craig

Henare, also the Minister for Whānau Ora, made the announcement this morning alongside Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio and Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson at the Ngā Whare Waatea Marae in Māngere, South Auckland.

At the event today, Henare described Covid-19 as "the fight" now and acknowledged that everyone needed to come together to beat it.

Pacific health providers had been instrumental in helping Pasifika families throughout the Covid outbreaks; particularly the current wave that started last year.

Māori health providers had done the same for the Māori community and had helped get vaccination rates up.

Henare acknowledged how these specific health providers knew their people and their communities and therefore knew exactly how to respond and help them.

Targeted initiatives had worked, he said, and the funding would help those health providers to continue that work in the communities they knew well.

Pasifika and Māori hit hardest in current outbreak

The latest demographic statistics show 10,372 people of Pacific descent (37 per cent of all cases) have contracted Covid in the current outbreak.

A total of 7257 Māori make up 26 per cent of all cases.

The $140m will go to up to 160 Māori and Pacific health providers around New Zealand and is in addition to the Care in the Community boost announced by government officials last week.

Sio said the investment would be of particular help to Pasifika health providers outside of the northern region and would see the scaling up for services being given to Pacific families.

Māori and Pacific communities have been hit the hardest in the current Covid outbreak. Photo / Michael Craig

"Funding will go towards supporting their workforce resources including vaccination. I want to encourage innovative Pacific models of care with a focus on the immediate Omicron response.

"I want to communicate key public health messages in culturally appropriate ways," Sio said.

Sio praised Pasifika health providers, church leaders and other community leaders who had stepped up last year to respond to the Delta wave and boost vaccination numbers.

"The people I depend on is our people," he said.

"Now we have another wave - Omicron - and the wave is only just beginning."

He described it as a king tide that continued to grow, so it was important to continue the work to help our families.

Sio encouraged health providers to work hard to deliver that help for ordinary people because that provided them the independence and the confidence to look after themselves this year.

The Pacific Minister said it was important for the public to know that although the money was going to Māori and Pacific health provider groups, they did not discriminate.

They helped people from all backgrounds and ethnicities.

"They are serving everybody. Why? Because of those values and beliefs that we're all in this boat together."

Testing stations around Auckland 'swamped'

Meanwhile, testing stations around Auckland are swamped with cars clogging the surrounding streets in both North Shore and South Auckland waiting to get tested this morning.

By 8am there were more than 50 cars in line at the Manurewa Testing Centre where there is a sign clearly stating that only close contacts should get tested.

Northcote Testing Station is facing similar delays with cars backed up along Lake and Exmouth Roads. Balmoral and White Cross St Lukes testing stations are also swamped.

Earlier this morning, Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said the Parliament grounds occupation is no longer peaceful - and has urged protesters to go home.

Robertson said police were doing what they said they would do in a bid to give Wellingtonians their city back.

"They're over this," Robertson told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking.

Protest now 'beyond' a peaceful one

"This is a protest that has gone well beyond what I think most New Zealanders would see as a peaceful protest. You've made your point, please leave now."

Asked if there was any chance of discussion between the Government and the protesters, Robertson said they would not negotiate with people who were carrying out acts such as the illegal blocking of roads and throwing human waste at police and into the city's drains.

He encouraged people not to visit the site. "This is not a place for people to go to spectate," he told TVNZ's Breakfast.

"Wellingtonians have had enough of this. Our streets have been blocked, our people have been harassed, our environment has been trashed.

"Whatever point the protesters think they might've been making, they've made it and now it's time for them to leave."

Robertson told AM he did not think phase 3 of the red-light response would be "far away at all".

The trigger point was around 5000 cases a day and cases were currently doubling every three to four days.

There were 2365 cases and two deaths reported yesterday.

Under phase 3, the definition of a close contact changed and narrowed to basically being a household contact so this would help businesses keep going with few people required to isolate.

"We do recognise with more cases, the level of disruption businesses face is going to be much higher."

They recognised it was very tough for a number of businesses, which is why they had offered the latest support package, he said.

Currently in phase 2 close contacts still had to isolate, but RATS allowed people to be tested more quickly so they could isolate and let their contacts know. The role of rapid antigen tests would also evolve as the country moved into phase 3.

Robertson pointed to other countries where an Omicron outbreak had occurred - the rate of Covid cases peaked within four to six weeks.

Overseas evidence showed that once that Omicron wave was over, consumers were quick to come back to support businesses. "This is a hump that we will get over."