Tagged: MIQ

Featured image: Vaccination alone will not provide full protection. When borders open, NZ will still be managing COVID-19

Vaccination alone will not provide full protection. When borders open, NZ will still be managing COVID-19 - COVID-19

Guest Author • Apr 09, 2021 •

Nikki Turner, University of Auckland From next week, unvaccinated staff working at managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facilities will be moved to low-risk jobs, following a case of a worker who missed vaccination appointments and then tested positive for COVID-19. The recently announced ban on arrivals from India underscores an important point: even once all border and … Read More

Featured image: To ensure success of the trans-Tasman travel “green zone”, we need to reduce system failures at the NZ border

To ensure success of the trans-Tasman travel “green zone”, we need to reduce system failures at the NZ border - Public Health Expert

Public Health Expert • Mar 30, 2021 •

Dr Leah Grout, Dr Jennifer Summers, Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, Prof Michael Baker, Prof Nick Wilson While succeeding very well with its elimination strategy, NZ still does not have optimal border control. We find since July 2020 there have been 13 identified border failures and at least 6 internal MIQ facility failures. The forthcoming quarantine-free “green zone” between NZ and Australia … Read More

Featured image: How to best prioritise Covid-19 Vaccination in Aotearoa/New Zealand

How to best prioritise Covid-19 Vaccination in Aotearoa/New Zealand - Public Health Expert

Public Health Expert • Mar 02, 2021 •

Dr Ben Gray* New Zealand has begun to roll out its Covid-19 vaccination programme, starting with those working at the border, including in the Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) facilities. There have been calls for prioritising other groups such as those in South Auckland [1] and meat industry workers [2]. The National Ethics Advisory Committee has released a final … Read More

Featured image: Test, test, test

Test, test, test - The Dismal Science

Eric Crampton • Feb 18, 2021 •

My column over at Newsroom this week points out the fairly obvious. The government can add daily saliva testing for everyone at the border to the existing testing regimen. If daily testing winds up proving the swab tests to be redundant, ditch the swab tests when we find that out. If it turns out they’re both useful, keep both. Read More

Featured image: Your questions on the latest NZ Covid cases, answered

Your questions on the latest NZ Covid cases, answered - Infectious Thoughts

Siouxsie Wiles • Feb 16, 2021 •

Three new community cases of Covid-19 and an unknown source have plunged Auckland into lockdown and the rest of the country into alert level two. Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles tackles some of the critical questions we now face. Could we be looking at a situation as worrying as last August in Auckland? Yes. Like in August, it isn’t clear yet how … Read More

Featured image: Close contact test results will be crucial to whether Auckland’s level 3 lockdown is extended beyond three days

Close contact test results will be crucial to whether Auckland’s level 3 lockdown is extended beyond three days - COVID-19

Guest Author • Feb 15, 2021 •

Michael Plank, University of Canterbury; Shaun Hendy, University of Auckland, and Siouxsie Wiles, University of Auckland New Zealand’s latest community cases, the first to be infected with the more infectious B.1.1.7 variant of COVID-19, have a plausible link to the border through one person’s workplace at LSG Sky Chefs, a business that deals with laundry and catering from international … Read More

Featured image: How best to classify and count NZ’s border control failures in the COVID-19 pandemic?

How best to classify and count NZ’s border control failures in the COVID-19 pandemic? - Public Health Expert

Public Health Expert • Feb 12, 2021 •

Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Leah Grout, Prof Michael Baker In taking a systems approach to pandemic control, it is helpful to define what is meant by a “border control failure” so that such events can be used to guide performance improvement. This blog proposes specific definitions for the current context in Aotearoa NZ. It concludes that since July 2020, NZ … Read More

Featured image: What do we know about Covid transmission via pipes and ventilation?

What do we know about Covid transmission via pipes and ventilation? - Infectious Thoughts

Siouxsie Wiles • Jan 29, 2021 •

Is it plausible that the new cases contracted in the Pullman hotel in Auckland were transmitted via pipes? Here’s what the science tells us. As the investigation to determine how three people became infected with Covid-19 during their stay in New Zealand’s managed isolation and quarantine system gets away, it is worth considering a few studies published recently that point … Read More

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