The Government should begin removing vaccine mandates progressively once we are through the peak of Omicron, National Leader Christopher Luxon said in a speech on Monday.
“National is strongly pro-vaccination, but the public health rationale for mandates is much less than it was just a few months ago. Omicron is just so infections and busts through vaccination, including boosters.
“New Zealanders have done the right thing. We got vaccinated in record numbers. We’re getting boosted. We get tested. We’ve tolerated being shut off from the rest of the world for two years.”
Luxon, who is also MP for Botany, said the Government must step up and begin to “heal the deep divisions it has created in our society before they get worse”. Key to that is a plan on what criteria they will use to begin lifting vaccine mandates.
Mandates are becoming increasingly less relevant in the country’s highly-vaccinated population and as Covid becomes endemic.
“They should begin to be removed progressively once we are through the peak of Omicron,” Luxon said.
“The areas where Government mandates should be removed first are vaccination requirements for border workers, vaccine pass requirements for children’s sport and vaccine pass requirements for hospitality businesses.”
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a post-Cabinet speech on Monday that the Government’s primary goal “is to manage Covid with as few restrictions on our daily lives as possible, to keep people feeling confident and safe, and to accelerate our economic recovery”.
“As always, what that means in terms of changing restrictions isn’t an easy question to answer in an often-unpredictable pandemic,” Ardern said.
“But by looking at what is happening overseas, we can begin to look to the future.
“Firstly, we know our wave of cases is likely to hit a peak in roughly mid to late March, only three to six weeks away.
“At that point, if we follow the pattern of other countries, we’ll likely see a rapid decline, followed by cases stabilising at a lower level.”
Ardern said the reason the country will be able to move away from vaccine passes and many mandates, is because more people will have had Covid.
“So in the same way that coming out the other side of the peak will give us the chance to step down through the Traffic Light system, and ease things like gathering limits, it will also enable us to move on vaccine passes and ease mandates in places where they are less likely to impact vulnerable people,” the Prime Minister said.
“They will remain important in some areas for some time. There can be no specific date given at this point, but what I can tell you is that we will be looking to make sure that we are well beyond the peak and that the pressure on our health system is manageable.”
Luxon in his speech the Government needed to do more for the hospitalilty sector.
“Hospitality businesses around New Zealand are doing the hard yards under current settings – despite officials specifically telling Labour not to apply vaccine pass requirements to bars, restaurants and cafes,” said Luxon.
He said the Government also needs to open up the border “right now” for Kiwis coming home from anywhere in the world.
“We should quickly open to tourists and other visa holders too and we should get rid self-isolation requirements unless someone tests positive when they land,” Luxon said.
“National is the party of law and order, and we condemn the illegal and antisocial behaviour of those involved in the protest. MPs cannot engage with law-breakers while roads are illegally occupied and death threats hang in the air.
“But we should not ignore the wider frustrations of law-abiding New Zealanders and businesses doing it tough.”
