Do we want vax certificates at Waipapa?

When government switches on the traffic light system this week, everyone will need to carry a license or vaccine certificate in high-risk settings where they will be a requirement to access specific venues.  The vaccine certificate is proof of vaccination for Covid?

Our marae will no doubt be defined as a high-risk setting because of the nature of marae and how we interact while on the marae.

The question is, do we want vaccination certificates at Waipapa or more to the point do we need them to keep our beneficiaries safe?

It may seem like a no-brainer but there are implications that we need to think about?  This includes our kaumātua, our huānga who choose to be vaxxed and our huānga who choose not to be vaxxed or who can't be vaccinated on medical grounds?  We all need to discuss this on Zoom.

Here's the latest update about Covid as of Sunday 28 November 2021.  These figures clearly illustrate why vaccination certificates are on the table.

There are 144 new cases of Covid-19 in the Delta community outbreak and a person in their 80s has died in Auckland's North Shore Hospital. Sunday’s case numbers include 127 in Auckland, two in Northland, nine in Waikato, four in the Bay of Plenty and the one in Hawke's Bay.  The nine new cases in Waikato include five in Hamilton, two in Te Kūiti, one in Cambridge and one in Kawhia.

The announcement comes as health officials contend with news of the new, highly transmissible Omicron variant outbreak in South Africa.  While two cases of the new variant have been discovered in New South Wales today, the new variant has not yet been detected in New Zealand.

In the meantime, Cabinet will decide this week what traffic light colour each region starts in, as the country prepares to transition to     

the COVID-19 Protection Framework.  

When the traffic lights are switched on, everyone will need to carry a license or vaccine certificate in high-risk settings like Air New Zealand for example where vaccine certificates are mandated for domestic and international flights once the borders open.  So if you’re not vaccinated, you will not be allowed to fly Air New Zealand.   

While people without a vaccine certificate will be able to access essential services, such as supermarkets and pharmacies, the government has made it clear, certificates would be necessary for businesses in the hospitality industry such as restaurants and pubs to operate as normal.  This begs the question, how does this apply to our marae?  Are the rules the same for marae as they are for restaurants and pubs?  What we do know is, for businesses that do not implement vaccine certificates, will not “ operate as normal. If you do choose to use vaccination certificates, you can operate at every level,” the PM said recently.

So for Waipapa, what impact will this have on the poukai next year because vaccine passports will play a role in every level of the traffic light system, whether it’s green, orange or red?  The traffic light colour will depend on the behaviour of the virus in the community whether there’s high or low transmission, the extent to which hospitals are coping with hospitalisations and the pressure being put on the health system.

So how will the traffic light system work for the poukai 2022?      

Let’s deal with this one first because our poukai is a biggy for us.

If vaccination certificates are used at Waipapa for the poukai next year, under the green light system, we can operate as normal.  There’ll be no limits imposed on the number of people attending the poukai if we use vaccination certificates to ensure everyone entering the marae is vaccinated.  If not, we can only host up to 100 people, seated and separated based on 1-metre social distancing on the marae and inside the wharekai.

Scanning in with Waipapa marae QR codes will be compulsory across every traffic light colour.  Otherwise, a record must be kept of everyone attending the poukai. Face masks must also be encouraged indoors.

At Orange, if vaccination certificates are used at Waipapa for the poukai next year, again, there’ll be no limits imposed on the number of people gathering for the poukai.

If vaccination certificates are not used, the poukai will be limited to 50 people only seated and separated based on 1-metre social distancing both inside and outside on the marae.  In terms of providing hospitality in restaurants, for example, there must be no contact with restaurant guests.  It's contactless and back to click and collect.  But we're not sure how this pans out on the marae.  We'll have to check and get back to you. 

Under RED, the rules of course are strict.

If vaccination certificates are used at Waipapa for the poukai next year, there’s a limit of up to 100 people based on 1-metre distancing, under the red light system.

If vaccination certificates are not used, we're only allowed to have 25 people at the poukai.  The question is, who will the 25 be after you take into account the King and his people, the manuwhiri tūārangi and the pae.  What happens if the King doesn't attend because of his health status?  What happens to the pae, if our kaumātua won't attend because of the risk to their health?  There's a lot to think about. 

It'll no doubt be contactless in the wharekai!  Pick up and take away 25 lunch bags prepped the night before and left out in the wharekai for collection.  Note, those prepping the 25 lunch bags are part of your 25 people allowed at the poukai!

Getting back to the traffic light system, the government's COVID-19 Protection Framework, face masks are recommended whenever leaving the house under the red traffic light system.

Officials will decide which regions will enter the framework at 'Red' - the most restrictive setting - and which regions will start at Orange', a setting with slightly more freedom.  'Green' the setting closest to pre-pandemic normality, has been ruled out for now. 

Regional vaccination rates and positive case numbers will factor in Cabinet's decision.  The country will shift to the new system at 11:59 pm on Thursday.  The framework, designed for a highly vaccinated population, rewards the double-vaccinated with a return to relative normality.  They can dine out, go to the gym, visit a bar and attend events.  For businesses to operate without significant restrictions in place means they are required to adopt a 'no vax, no entry' policy and that means all customers must present their My Vaccine Pass. 

The Ministry of Health has put out an app called NZ Pass Verifier.  It's a free app for businesses, marae and organisations to scan and verify their customers and beneficiaries to ensure they all have a legitimate vaccination certificate.

The main pātai is, how will it apply to our poukai, 12 March next year?

We have to decide whether we use vaccination certificates or not at the poukai.  We have had this conversation with our kaumātua, who are adamant they do not want to be put at risk and insist everyone who comes onto the marae is vaccinated.  As a beneficiary, what do you think?

The trust believes there's a way to approach this with care, aroha for each other as well as meeting our health and safety standards for poukai.  But what is the best way to do this?  Bear in mind this ain't going to be permanent.  It's an interim measure to get us through the current Covid restrictions at all levels of the traffic light system.  This happened during the 1918 flu epidemic as well as the polio epidemic in the 1950s and our tūpuna took precautionary measures back then to deal with the challenges they were confronted with.   The difference is they didn't have a vaccination of choice as we do with Covid and that's a pretty big difference.   

The trust is charged to make the final decision because trustees are liable for health and safety on the marae.  Our priority is definitely focused on keeping our King and his family safe as well as our kaumātua, kuia and tamariki mokopuna.  However, Covid doesn’t discriminate as we know, so we want to hear from beneficiaries vaxxed and unvaxxed because Covid affects us all, some more than others.  Here’s a raft of questions to think about that apply to poukai and tangihanga during the Covid restrictions.    

1. Do we bring in vaccination certificates?
2. If we do it means the unvaxxed are locked out? Is it a breach of their birthright?
3. If it is, where do you draw the line?
4. Is the line drawn for the safety of all beneficiaries?
5. How do you manage the use of vaccination certificates?
6. Do we have Māori warden’s policing the gates?
7. How do you manage people who come to the poukai unvaxxed? What happens if they refuse to leave claiming Waipapa is their birthright to be at the poukai despite being a risk to all?
8. What are the rules for the wharekai on the day of the poukai?
9. To what extent, is a hygiene plan important in the preparation of kai in the kitchen?
10. Should we have a normal hākari under abnormal circumstances or should we have picnic bags as we did last year?
11. Hui numbers are clear under the traffic light system with or without vaccination certificates.  The benefits for beneficiaries with vax certificates are obvious.  But what’s the best option for our poukai because that’s the kaupapa at the end of the day? 
12. No sleepovers are being allowed for the poukai to avoid super spreader events.  Manuwhiri will go straight home after the flag comes down at 2 pm.  Should this apply to the home crowd who normally stay the night?
13. Tangihanga. What are the rules for tangihanga?
14. Should tangihanga that has always been for 3 nights on average be reduced to a day?
15. Should our tangihanga now be only 4 hours maximum? 
16. Should we allow hākari as part of the tangihanga process?
17. Do we only allow tangihanga to involve the laying of the tūpāpaku on the marae with mihi for 2 hours and no kai?
18. Masks.  What’s the rules for masks on the marae?
19. Should masks be compulsory?
20. Should we observe mask-wearing on the marae with social distancing as an integral part of our seating plan whether that’s in the wharekai or on the marae?  Or does it mean eating outside if it’s fine?   
21. What happens if someone refuses to wear a mask because of respiratory conditions?
22. Social distancing.  Compulsory or not?
23. Hui. What hui gets the green light at Waipapa under Covid restrictions?
24. What constitutes a hui at Waipapa?
25. Should we be looking at ZOOM and Teams for hui like meetings?
26. Should the marae now only be used as a priority in the wake of Covid?
27. Kai.  Can we risk providing kai at any gathering at Waipapa?
28. Sleepovers.  Should we have sleepovers given the high risk of community transmission indoors as super spreaders?

As trustees, we're raising these issues for all of us to ponder over while the marae remains closed?  But the time is drawing near when we’ll have to decide what the plan will be?  So we want to hear from our beneficiaries because these are big tikanga issues that need to be discussed and at the moment face to face meetings are risky.  Zoom is another platform available to us to discuss these topics in earnest.  Let us know!  We will schedule three Zoom Wānanga in the New Year for our marae beneficiaries. 

It's now time to insist we at Waipapa take ownership of our own responsibilities and allow strong marae leadership to encourage beneficiaries toward vaccine-oriented wellbeing.

If you don't want to respect Waipapa as safe beneficiaries, then I suggest you relinquish the privilege of your birthright that allows you to enjoy the benefits you take for granted at Waipapa. 

However, the question remains, do we use vax passports at Waipapa or not?  Decisions have consequences.  If we do use them, how do we include our marae beneficiaries who aren't vaxxed?  If we don't use them, how do we protect our King and kaumātua?  How do we protect our tamariki mokopuna yet to be given the parental choice of vaccination?  Tēnā, wānangatia!