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Chris Hipkins
Labour Party
With the Auckland boundary open from today, I wanted to say thanks for all your efforts over the past few months to help keep our communities safe.
From taking part in Super Saturday to getting tested in record numbers, New Zealanders have pulled out all the stops to keep each other safe, and now, just in time for summer, we’re able to return to a way of life that feels a little more normal. Thank you for the role you’ve played in helping us get here.
I also wanted to say a particular thank you to everyone in Auckland. I know it’s been a really tough few months for Aucklanders, but your hard work has kept all of New Zealand safe and bought us time to lift vaccination rates across the country. These efforts have been vital to our COVID-19 response and have undoubtedly saved lives.
On behalf of all New Zealanders, thank you for everything you’ve done and for the sacrifices you’ve made to protect the team of five million.
From today, if you’re fully vaccinated or you’ve had a negative test, you can travel across the Auckland boundary and reconnect with family and friends. I really hope you enjoy spending time with loved ones and getting out around the country over the coming months.
This week also brought the welcome news that we’re on track to hit 90% of eligible New Zealanders fully vaccinated. That’s an incredibly impressive effort, and means we’re now one of the most highly vaccinated countries in the world. More importantly, it will ensure people who can’t yet be vaccinated, like young children, are better protected as we safely reopen over the summer.
Of course, with variants like Omicron making inroads across the globe, we still need to stay cautious. That’s why, as we all look forward to a well-deserved summer break, we need to keep up those important health behaviours like scanning in wherever we go, wearing a face covering, and staying home if we’re sick, to keep COVID-19 at bay.
Together with our high vaccination rates, these actions will help protect our communities and will ensure we can keep enjoying the things we love this holiday period. If you’d like a refresher on what you need to do under the new traffic lights framework, you can find everything you need to know here.
Before I wrap, I want to acknowledge the huge amount of work that’s gone on in Northland over the past few weeks. I know this week’s decision for the region to remain at Red is not the news some of you were hoping for, but while there’s been enormous progress, vaccination rates in the region are still among the lowest in the country.
As we continue to drive up these vaccination rates over the summer, the extra precautions in place at Red will offer a bit more protection for our northern communities. You can find out more about this here.
That’s it from me for now, but I’ll be back in touch soon with another update on our response and recovery. In the meantime, have a fantastic Christmas and a relaxing summer break, and here’s to a great 2022.
Thanks,
Chris Hipkins
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