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6. Members discussed the communications approach in relation to these cases. It was
agreed that Health and DPMC officials would provide advice on an approach following
this meeting, taking into account the latest information in relation to the cases.
7. It is noted that there was insufficient information about the close contacts of the s9(2)(a)
case, and their movements, to determine further steps.
8. It was agreed that Ashley Bloomfield would provide NRLT with updates and the group
may need to meet again later in the day or tomorrow.
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9. Members agreed that Ashley Bloomfield wil brief Minister Hipkins, as Duty Minister,
following this call.
10. The Chair closed the meeting.
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Una Jagose
National Response Leadership Team
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National Response Leadership Team meeting
Date: 7 Jan 2022, 1100hrs
Member attendance: Peter Mersi (NRLT Chair), Una Jagose, Carolyn Tremain, Christine
Stevenson, Caralee McLiesh, Dave Gawn, Lil Anderson, Andrew Crisp, Dave Samuels, Mac
Leauanae,
Other attendance: Natasha Dcosta (NRLT Secretariat), Vik Rickard, Glenn Dunbier, Ben
King, Tania Ott, Grace Smit, Lisa McPhail, Stephen Harris, Robyn Shearer, Caroline
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McElnay, Hayden Glass, Darryn Webb, Katrina Casey, Bridget White, Liam McNamara, Ben
White, Carl Crafar.
Purpose
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This briefing records the discussion at the National Response Leadership Team meeting
regarding Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) capacity challenges and work being
carried out to prepare for OMICRON cases in the community.
Next steps
NRLT secretariat worked with the Chair, DPMC and MoH to draw a note together to inform
Ministers Robertson and Verrall of the current MIQ challenges, contingency planning for
community cases of OMICRON. The memo signalled the intention to bring to Ministers in the
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week of 10 January a proposal around the high-level messaging to signal to the AoG
system and the wider public the shift from management of the Delta variant to that of
OMICRON.
Minutes
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1. Peter Mersi, (Acting) Chair of the National Response Leadership Team (NRLT) opened
the meeting.
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2. The Chair invited Carolyn Tremain to provide a situation update in MIQ.
2.1. Carolyn Tremain briefed members on the ongoing pressure on the MIQ system as a
result of OMICRON, and if positive cases at the border continue at similar rates as
currently and or increase further, additional measures will be needed for quarantine
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2.2. Members were informed that MIQ is investigating additional measures to shore up
the quarantine capacity of MIQ. Other measures under consideration include
allocating isolation space based on arrival of high-risk flights, feasibility of dual use
facilities for both isolation and quarantine and considering other isolation options for
several large groups due into the country, for example Defence personnel, sports
teams, Antarctic workers, and refugees that are travelling as cohorts.
2.3. While these measures will provide temporary capacity to manage cases at the
border, the stress on the system will remain significant as does the inevitable leaking
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of OMICRON into the community at some point.
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3. The chair noted that any contingency plan would be based upon a broad set of options
that included a plan of action for cases, a revised definition of MIQ and an understanding
of the risk appetite with regard to OMICRON.
4. Representatives from the Ministry of Health provided an update on contingency planning
for OMICRON in the community
4.1. Robyn Shearer informed the meeting that a Public Health Risk assessment has
been conducted that suggests delaying the relaxation of isolation requirements for
air crew due to the risk of rising border cases. Another public health risk assessment 1982
is scheduled for 27 January 2022 to align with the review of Reconnecting New
Zealanders settings by the end of February.
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4.2. Bridget White noted that The Ministry of Health is currently progressing work on
managing OMICRON in the community. The current Omicron strategy is to keep it at
the border, detect and rapidly respond to any Omicron cases in the community,
strengthen protection through vaccination with a focus on vulnerable populations.
However once Omicron is seeded in the community it is likely the strategy will
become one of protecting the most vulnerable from severe disease and / or death,
ensuring equity, and limiting the impact on society through the protection of critical
infrastructure and workforces.
4.3. The Ministry of Health is reviewing the testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine
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paradigm (TTIQ) in light of Omicron. They are using three scenarios to develop the
proposed TTIQ model, based on international evidence and experience to date. The
scenarios are:
a. Low-incidence (current state): up to 1,000 cases per day
b. Medium-incidence: 1,000-5,000 cases per day
c. High-incidence: 5,000-50,000+ cases per day
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4.4. Draft planning assumptions based on international evidence include factors such as
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a. Incubation period for Omicron is on average 3- 4 days but can vary with
some reports up to 8 days
b. Omicron case numbers will grow rapidly, and the variant will be
predominant in New Zealand with 2-4 weeks of being seeded in the
community. A 10-case outbreak would reach 1000 new cases per day in 6-12
days.
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c. The need for hospitalisation as a proportion of Omicron cases might be
lower than for Delta but in absolute terms, due to increased numbers of
cases, there could be similar or more daily hospitalisations and deaths.
d. Vaccine effectiveness can be assumed to still offer some protection but is
expected to be lower than compared with Delta. A booster shot restores
protection against hospitalisation and symptom severity, but it is unclear for
how long.
4.5 The meeting was informed that The TTIQ model for Omicron will be provided to
Minister Verrall and the Director-General of Health mid-late next week for feedback and
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discussion. Once approved, the TTIQ model will be shared across agencies and inform
agencies planning, and communications.
5. The chair agreed that there is a need to understand the implication of OMICRON on the
system at large and what a corresponding response would look like.
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6. Katrina Casey informed the meeting that DPMC will lead the development of all-of-
Government communications post the approval of the TTIQ model to ensure the public
and businesses understand what to expect at the medium and high incidence levels
where a higher degree of self-management is required in response to an outbreak. A
proposal on high level messaging will be presented to duty ministers by 13 January.
7. It was agreed that the Chair, DPMC and MoH officials would draft an aide memoire on
behalf of NRLT for a 4PM meeting on 7 January to duty Ministers on the key issues of
MIQ capacity, contingency planning and indicate the development of high level
messaging based on a “no regrets” approach.
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8. This approach would include booster vaccinations, vaccinations for 5-11-year olds and
acknowledgement that OMICRON is very different from Delta as well as signalling the
work underway.
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9. It was agreed that it would be desirable to have specific messaging available for
businesses and industries within the fortnight. It will be important to learn from the
experience of other countries where critical services (such as health, food supply and
essential services) have been disrupted because the systems didn’t respond fast enough
to the fact Omicron works differently. However, this will depend on decisions and when
these are made. It should still be possible to at least provide some form of messaging
prior to that which would give business and industries a basis for their own preparations
and planning.
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10. The Chair closed the meeting.
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Peter Mersi
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5. The Chair invited Robyn Shearer to update the NRLT on rapid antigen test (RATs)
availability. Robyn noted that there wil be prioritisation of RATs to critical and essential
workers. Robyn noted that New Zealand, like many other countries, is facing supply
chain issues to import RATs. Robyn noted the that orders of RATs are being continually
reviewed and the Ministry of Health wil develop a central distribution model.
6. The Chair invited Katrina Casey to debrief on the public messaging and communications
approach for the upcoming week.
6.1. Katrina reported that the communications messaging will be a continuation of what 1982
we currently have in place (eg mask, scan, pass) and to encourage people to be
prepared for Omicron. This upcoming week there wil be an increase in
communications around booster vaccines and paediatric vaccines. Katrina reported
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some recent public sentiment themes that are emerging across Unite Against
COVID-19 social media channels.
6.2. Katrina noted the upcoming papers due to Ministers this week on the COVID-19
Protection Framework settings across the country and on Reconnecting New
Zealanders.
7. The Chair asked a few questions on the work within the Ministry of Health regarding the
interval between the second vaccine dose and booster vaccine and the availability of the
paediatric vaccines across the country for the upcoming rollout.
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8. The Chair provided an update on managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) capacity. The
Chair noted that there wil be further quarantine rooms available soon and that the MIQ
system is feeling pressure due to the higher number of positive cases within facilities.
The Chair discussed that there may be a review of, and changes to, the testing approach
for MIQ workers.
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9. The Chair invited Viv Rickard to update the NRLT on the Care in the Community
supports for individuals isolating in the community. Viv noted that the demand for the
Care in the Community supports is relatively low at the moment. Viv noted that most of
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the individuals that the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) is supporting through the
Care in the Community work is a similar population group that MSD typically interact with
and a common support needed is around food access.
10. The Chair invited Dave Gawn and Chris Seed to update the NRLT on the tsunami in
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Tonga and associated response.
10.1. Dave reported that the volcanic eruption occurred yesterday around 5pm. The
disrupted communication, particularly to the outer islands, is making it difficult to
discern the damage so far. A flyover is likely to occur tomorrow, provided the
conditions allow, which wil help ascertain the scale and nature of the damage.
There are some ef ects from the tsunami observed on the coast of Northland and an
advisory wil remain in place until at least tonight.
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10.2. Chris reported that the undersea cable that links Tonga to the world was damaged
during the tsunami and other critical infrastructure has been damaged, including
some access to drinking water. Chris reported that the Emergency Coordination
Centre at the Ministry of Foreign Af airs and Trade has been stood up to organise
the response effort.
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10.3. Darryn Webb noted that the New Zealand Defence Force is working closely with
Australia, and is preparing to be ready to dispatch support and supplies, depending
on how the situation evolves.
11. The Chair noted that no further NRLT wil be called today and the next acting Chair of
the NRLT is Christine Stevenson.
12. The Chair closed the meeting.
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Carolyn Tremain
Acting Chair, National Response Leadership Team
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National Response Leadership Team meeting
Date: 22 Jan 2022, 21:00 hrs
Member attendance: Christine Stevenson (Chair), Peter Mersi, Carolyn Tremain, Caralee
McLiesh, Dave Gawn, Lil Anderson, Mac Leauanae, Chris Seed, Andrew Coster, Andrew
Chrisp
Other attendance: Natasha Dcosta (NRLT Secretariat), Viv Rickard, Karl Woodhead, Geoff
Short, Sacha ODea, Anna Cassie, Richard Schmidt, Aaron Wright, Katrina Casey, Liam
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McNamara, Ruth Fairhall, Hamish Rogers.
Purpose
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This briefing records the discussion at the National Response Leadership Team meeting
regarding an emerging incident of secondary transmission of the OMICRON variant in the
community.
Next steps
DPMC Policy will send through a briefing which, aligned with the public health risk
assessment, will support and advise a shift to the Red setting with additional measures and
tightened restrictions under the COVID-19 Protection Framework. Feedback is sought from
members of the NRLT by no later than 08:30 AM on Sunday 23 January 2022. The briefing
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will be then be submitted to Ministers at 09:00 AM.
Acknowledging the importance of business continuity in an outbreak, DPMC Planning,
Readiness and Response will work with agencies to finalise critical workers across the public
sector.
Embargoed briefings will be provided to key sectors between ahead of the 11:00AM media
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standup on Sunday 23 January 2022 to inform the move to red settings in the CPF
framework
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Minutes
1. Christine Stevenson, (Acting) Chair of the National Response Leadership Team (NRLT)
opened the meeting.
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2. The Chair invited Ashley Bloomfield to provide a situation update.
2.1. Ashley briefed members on an emerging situation where following whole genome
sequencing, 10 cases of the OMICRON variant of COVID-19 have been detected in
a family in the Nelson Motueka. These cases have no known link to the border or
border-workers.
2.2. s9(2)(a)
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2.3. s9(2)(a)
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2.4. Early stages of contact tracing have indicated that contacts are located across the
country.
2.5. Considering the known virulence of Omicron, it is expected that the number of
confirmed cases will grow over the coming days.
2.6. A public health risk assessment has been held and it recommends New Zealand
move to the red setting under the COVID-19 Protection Framework.
3. Aaron Wright, Head of Planning, Readiness and Response at DPMC then provided a
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system update.
3.1. Aaron informed members a written brief on the movement of the country to the red
setting in the COVID protection framework along with tightened public health
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measures will be provided to Ministers at 09:00 AM on 23 January 2022 with an
official zoom meeting at 10:00AM before the media stand up at 11:00AM on the
same day.
3.2. The legal implementation of this setting once approved can be implemented by
midnight 23 January 2022
3.3. National Response Group has agreed that work would be prioritised in terms of
what needed to be done in the next 24 hours. The group has recommended that in
the window post the 10:00AM officials meeting embargoed briefings are provided to
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key stakeholders likely to be affected. These stakeholders were identified as the
National Iwi Chairs, Regional public service commissioners, the Fast-moving
consumer goods (FMCG) sector and potentially road transport operators.
4. Ruth Fairhall added that DPMC Policy is producing a briefing paper which, aligned with
the public health risk assessment, will support and advise a shift to the Red setting with
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additional measures and tightened restrictions under the COVID-19 Protection
Framework.
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4.1. The briefing will seek approval to reduce capacity requirements in indoor and
outdoor settings and the use of medical grade masks for those under the
mandatory vaccination order
4.2. The draft of this paper will be distributed to attendees in the evening of 22 January
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2022 and, after feedback is incorporated, will be submitted to Ministers tomorrow at
09.00am 23 January 2022.
5. Members of the group discussed critical workers and agreed that more work was needed
across the public sector to ascertain numbers It was agreed that agencies would
respond to Aaron Wright to collate numbers at a system level.
6. Members questions if there would need to be changes to isolation requirements and
vaccination sequence,
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6.1. Ashley Bloomfield clarified that isolation periods would be longer at 10 days for
cases and 7 for contacts in the manage phase of the outbreak. As the outbreak
grows the focus would shift to enabling the critical workforces to function.
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6.2. He also clarified that currently the booster vaccination sequence was fit for purpose
given the supply in the country.
6.3. The sequence for tamariki vaccinations will be reviewed by the Health Vaccines
technical advisory group in early February.
7. The group then discussed the current Tongan mission and agreed that Tonga would be
informed on Sunday 23 January and could adjust their posture accordingly.
8. The chair acknowledged that across the system Business continuity plans were being
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updated and reviewed. It was discussed that further guidance would be forthcoming
once the scale of community transmission was confirmed.
9. The chair then thanked members and requested the CE of the Ministry of Transport, the
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CE of Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Director General of Health to stay
on to discuss responsibilities to the Cook Islands travel bubble and the sequence of
informing them of the outbreak.
9.1. Members discussed that Air New Zealand had a flight due to depart at 10:30AM on
Sunday 23 January and it would need to be indicated to the government of the
Cook Islands and the airline of the potential risk of infection via passengers given
the outbreak.
9.2. Ashley Bloomfield agreed to speak to the Prime Minister at 09:00AM on 23 January
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and post her approval provide an update to Air New Zealand and the Cook Island
government
10. The Chair closed the meeting.
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Christine Stevenson
National Response Leadership Team
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National Response Leadership Team meeting
Date: 2 February 2022, 1000hrs
Member attendance: Christine Stevenson (acting NRLT Chair), Ashley Bloomfield, Cheryl
Barnes, Aaron Wright, Caralee McLiesh, Glenn Dunbier (for Andrew Coster), Peter Mersi,
Chris Seed, Una Jagose, Dave Gawn, Debbie Power, Lil Anderson, Dave Samuels, Paul
Stocks (for Carolyn Tremain), Andrew Crisp, Bil Perry (acting for Christine Stevenson as
Chief Executive of New Zealand Customs Service)
Other attendance: Rae Nathan (NRLT Secretariat), Peter Hughes, Hamish Rogers, Ruth
Fairhall, Mac Leauanae, Paul Stocks, Glenn Dunbier, Liam McNamara
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Purpose
Act
This briefing records the discussion at the National Response Leadership Team meeting
regarding the phased approach to managing Omicron in the community (system readiness
for phase 2), an operational roundtable related to Omicron approach and response planning,
and to hear a situational update.
Minutes
1. Christine Stevenson, acting Chair of the National Response Leadership Team (NRLT),
opened the meeting.
2. The Chair invited Ashley Bloomfield to provide a situational update:
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2.1. Ashley reported that case numbers are increasing and similar with previous
outbreaks, Auckland is most-affected. Ashley reported that there are many cases in
South Auckland.
2.2. Ashley reported that the outbreak has grown but not at a significantly high rate of
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increase in comparison to previous outbreaks. Ashley noted that the protections we
have in place under the Red setting of the COVID-19 Protection Framework is likely
the reason for the slower rate of increase we are observing.
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2.3. Ashley summarised the advice that he provided to Ministers yesterday:
2.3.1. Advised that New Zealand remain at the Red setting of the COVID-19
Protection Framework (CPF).
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2.3.2. Advised that at this stage there is not a need to move to Phase 2 of the
Omicron approach.
2.3.3. Advised that at this stage there is not a need to change the settings of the Red
colour of the CPF beyond the advice provided around mask-use, but that if the
outbreak outlook changes materially then the Ministry of Health would
reconsider and advise accordingly.
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2.4. Ashley noted that with the reported hospitalisation rate of Omicron internationally,
we anticipate not seeing cases appearing unexpectedly at the hospital like we
observed in other outbreaks.
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2.5. Ashley noted that on Friday 4 February the Ministry wil conduct a readiness
assessment workshop across the health system.
2.6. Ashley noted that while we have the CPF in place and the Omicron phased plan,
Phase 3 is not inevitable and we are trying to flatten the curve. At this stage, the Red
settings of the CPF, and the vaccination rate and progress with boosters, puts us in
the best-possible position to keep Omicron case numbers as low as possible which
is critical for protecting our vulnerable populations, protecting the health system and
critical infrastructure.
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3. The Chair opened for a roundtable discussion.
4. Ashley discussed that some of the modelling available looks at what has occurred
overseas and applies that to the New Zealand population, but the current case numbers
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we are observing now are not as large, or increasing at the same rate, as what was
predicted by some model ing.
5. Peter Hughes noted that he released public service workforce guidance recently that
stated that while we are in Phase 1 staff in the Public Service should work as normal (eg
normal operating rhythm predominantly in-offices or including flexible working
arrangements). Peter noted that the caveat applies that if the public health measures
around distancing prevents the office from operating as normal then offices should work
from home to follow public health advice. Peter noted that on moving to Phase 2, when
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that occurs, he would provide guidance to the public service that they should work from
home, barring the approach for critical workforces. Peter noted that the Public Service
Commissioner has draft guidance ready for consultation with Chief Executives at the
Public Service Leadership Team (PSLT) advance tomorrow 3 February.
5.1. Members noted that some Chief Executives are considering ‘bubbles’ under Phase
2 and 3 and queried if that is a reasonable approach. Peter Hughes noted that this
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wil be discussed at the PSLT advance tomorrow.
6. Caralee McLiesh queried how Omicron may impact health care capacity and how the
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Omicron phases may impact on planned surgeries or procedures. Ashley noted that
contrary to the Alert Level framework approach to hospitals, the approach under the CPF
is that hospitals maintain business as usual practice, but as Omicron cases increase
they may reduce planned care. Ashley noted that considerations like this are monitored
closely and regularly. Ashley noted that if case numbers increase significantly, there
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would be about a two-week delay before we observe how that impacts on the health care
system capacity and this delay gives the hospitals time to prepare for changes needed in
advance.
7. The Chair invited Paul Stocks to debrief on the Test to Return scheme and the critical
workforce approach.
7.1. Paul noted that businesses are thinking about Test to Return as if it were a license
to operate (eg similar to the Alert Level Framework essential services approach)
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which it is not, and that the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE)
is leading this work between businesses and Ministers to design the scheme and
understand its implications.
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7.2. Paul Stocks noted to the NRLT that for MBIE to process the distribution of RATs to
critical workforces a self-registered approach (by businesses) under the Test to
Return scheme is most viable.
7.3. Paul noted that Health and Safety at Work Act would stil apply in employer
obligations in the Test to Return approach.
7.4. Paul noted that engagement with business on this approach has been productive.
7.5. Paul noted that for business readiness itself there are some concerns around
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absenteeism in distribution centres (eg supermarkets) that may not be alleviated by
the Test to Return approach.
7.6. Debbie Power noted that the Ministry of Social Development has staff that could be
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redeployed to support supermarket infrastructure to help keep the supermarkets
running and that existing policy settings could possibly be applied to this approach
(eg supporting local people to support supermarkets). Debbie noted that this wil
need to be discussed and considered by Ministers. Debbie noted that they would
also need to consider how the funding to support this possible solution might work.
8. The Chair invited Peter Mersi to provide an update on critical areas of risk in the
transport-space.
8.1. Peter Mersi debriefed that there wil be pinch points in some sectors (eg aviation
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refuelers who have the technical ability to refuel a plane). Peter noted that the
Ministry of Transport wil host a workshop this week to understand the vulnerabilities
in some sectors. Peter noted this work with sectors wil be based on public health
advice and focus predominantly on the critical workforces in the sector where staff is
limited.
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9. The Chair invited Debbie Power to provide an update on Caring the Community.
9.1. Debbie noted that the model put in place between health care and welfare before
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Christmas has embedded further over this period.
9.2. Debbie noted that the three-phase approach to Omicron wil change some of the
settings of the Caring in the Community model.
9.3. Debbie and the Caring in the Community governance group wil look to provide a
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paper to Ministers possibly next week to give Ministers choices around the supports
available within the Caring in the Community model and how that might look under
the Omicron phased approach.
10. The Chair noted that the Unite Against COVID-19 communications wil need to be
tailored and ready for subsequent Omicron phases.
10.1. Cheryl Barnes confirmed that the COVID-19 Group communications team are well-
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prepared and engaging across agencies to prepare for this. Cheryl invited Aaron
Wright to provide anything further updates on readiness and planning for Omicron
phases.
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