Siouxsie's tips for a safe summer

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She asked the world to “flatten the curve” and has been named “a force of nature”, one of the globe’s 100 inspiring and influential women and Supreme Winner at NZ’s Women of Influence Awards, Dr Siouxsie Wiles reminds us to keep up the good work in 2021.

Siouxsie Wiles enters 2021 in an optimstic frame of mind. "We've done a great job of dealing with the pandemic and hopefully that's why we're all going to be able to see our friends and family over the festive season, safely, unlike many other countries.

"The fact that we've got vaccines coming on line makes me feel optimistic that we can deal with the pandemic globally.

"In New Zealand, we've just got to be patient. There's still a lot we don't know about the vaccines because they haven't been used for very long in very many people. That means we have the benefit of waiting to see which is going to be the best vaccine for us to use and in what kind of way."

So her five rules for taking care of yourself, your family and your community over summer are – sunscreen, sunhat, your app, wash your hands, wear a mask!

"Even in the summer you need to be wearing a mask in situations when you're in a closed space, with lots of people you don't know, and on public transport.

"People who are going to music festivals and things like that – that's where the Bluetooth capability of the new Covid-19 app can be useful because you'll know who you were next to in the moshpit.

"You could wear a mask in those situations – that would be helpful in case you were close to somebody with the virus, although most festivals happen outside. There is less spread in those kind of environments but it still can happen."

As Aotearoa celebrates its successes in 2020, she asks us to keep our standards up in 2021.

"The really important thing is that we still have to maintain vigilance. If you have any symptoms, don't wait a few days – go and get tested because that's how we are going to make sure that if there are any incursions into the community we stamp them out really, really quickly. The more complacent we are, the more likely we are to have another cluster.

"Please continue to scan QR codes and use the Bluetooth capability in the Covid-19 app. The Bluetooth is not a replacement for using the app to scan in, so don't just switch on the Bluetooth and think you're done.

"You still need to keep a track of where you've been because the Bluetooth doesn't do that – it just connects with other people with the Bluetooth app around you. It doesn't track where you've been and we still need that information."