Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
<strong>Selwyn</strong> <strong>Times</strong> Wednesday <strong>October</strong> <strong>25</strong> <strong>2023</strong><br />
20<br />
NEWS<br />
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz<br />
Covid: Still here, still most<br />
Unless someone high<br />
profile gets it, most<br />
of us aren’t thinking<br />
about the dangers of<br />
catching Covid-19 now.<br />
We should be – it’s<br />
our country’s biggest<br />
infectious disease killer,<br />
twice as deadly as<br />
influenza. Tom Kitchin<br />
reports<br />
EVERY WEEK we see<br />
thousands of cases, hundreds<br />
lying in hospital beds, and<br />
around 20 deaths.<br />
Sorry to say it, but Covid is<br />
still alive and kicking.<br />
“It’s a bit like an unwelcome<br />
guest that no one wants to talk<br />
about, but it hasn’t gone away,<br />
that’s for sure,’’ said Otago<br />
University<br />
epidemiologist<br />
professor<br />
Michael Baker.<br />
“It’s our<br />
number one<br />
infectious<br />
disease threat<br />
Michael<br />
Baker<br />
. . . it’s really<br />
displaced<br />
influenza as our<br />
biggest single infectious disease<br />
killer.”<br />
And Baker warns the number<br />
of reported cases are probably<br />
well behind what’s actually out<br />
there.<br />
“(There are) 3,500 or so<br />
reported cases every week, but<br />
we know that will be at best<br />
50 per cent of the cases in the<br />
community . . . maybe less than<br />
that . . . so we’re still looking at<br />
about 10,000 cases probably a<br />
week at least.”<br />
Baker said reporting<br />
has dropped off for several<br />
reasons, such as there no longer<br />
being mandatory self-isolation<br />
and the Covid leave support<br />
scheme ending, which helped<br />
pay employees who had to<br />
isolate.<br />
Wastewater results are<br />
PROTECT:<br />
Professor<br />
Michael<br />
Baker says<br />
being<br />
up to<br />
date with<br />
vaccines,<br />
selfisolating<br />
if unwell<br />
and<br />
wearing<br />
masks<br />
on public<br />
transport<br />
are all still<br />
important<br />
actions to<br />
take.<br />
“It’s our number one infectious disease threat . . . it’s<br />
really displaced influenza as our biggest single infectious<br />
disease killer.” – Professor Michael Baker<br />
showing an interesting, if not<br />
slightly concerning, trend.<br />
“We’re seeing a rise at the<br />
moment, a relatively small<br />
rise, in the detection of this<br />
virus in wastewater, unlike the<br />
continuing decline we’re seeing<br />
in self-reported cases, and<br />
this does seem to date to the<br />
period when we removed the<br />
subsidy for self-isolation, and<br />
that coincided with when<br />
we removed mandatory selfisolation.”<br />
Baker says<br />
the virus<br />
hasn’t stopped<br />
evolving. He led<br />
the publication<br />
of a recent<br />
paper in the<br />
New Zealand<br />
Helen<br />
Petousis-<br />
Harris<br />
Medical Journal,<br />
co-authored<br />
by 16 academic<br />
experts, which<br />
calls for careful mitigation<br />
strategies.<br />
“Mitigation is not a ‘donothing’<br />
approach. You do a<br />
selection of things to try and<br />
minimise the harms caused by<br />
an infection.”<br />
He talks about being up-todate<br />
with vaccinations, staying at<br />
home and self-isolating if you’re<br />
sick, and putting on masks in<br />
crowded indoor environments<br />
like public transport.<br />
Auckland University associate<br />
professor Helen Petousis-<br />
Harris, a vaccinologist, says<br />
current vaccines are effective<br />
at protecting against serious<br />
disease, but not so much the<br />
17 - 19 NOVEMBER<br />
FREE<br />
ENTRY<br />
Delivering expertise<br />
to your farm.<br />
Grow with us.<br />
CELEBRATING<br />
50 YEARS<br />
1973 - <strong>2023</strong><br />
fri 17 nov<br />
Geraldine main Street<br />
Sat 18 nov<br />
Geraldine Domain<br />
fri 17 nov<br />
Sat 18 nov<br />
art and photography<br />
ExhibitionS<br />
17 - 19 nov<br />
17 - 19 nov<br />
SAT 18 nov<br />
SCAN HERE<br />
FOR MORE<br />
INFORMATION<br />
Maximising your yield is essential. In a competitive agricultural<br />
landscape, our agronomists can help find ways to efficiently manage<br />
inputs and improve your bottom line. Our research and innovative<br />
collaborations enable us to share the latest technology and industry<br />
information with you. So speak to us, and let’s grow together.<br />
We look forward to catching up with you at the Ashburton A&P Show.<br />
Contact<br />
0800 900 308 | cates.co.nz
Change language