Waiting, waiting, waiting

It’s a start:

National welcomes today’s announcement that vaccine passes and scanning requirements will be abolished, outdoor gathering limits will be scrapped and some vaccine mandates will be phased out, says National’s Covid-19 Response spokesperson Chris Bishop.

“The Government has finally caught up with reality, which is that Omicron has changed the game and the tools that worked against Delta are now putting unjustified limits on people’s lives and sowing division and discrimination.

“There is very little point in vaccine passes anymore and it’s good they’re finally being abolished.

The passes were never fit for purpose. They applied for six months from when they were issued regardless of how long it was since the user had received their second dose and they don’t differentiate between two and three doses even though now we’re told the third is necessary to offer better protection from Omicron.

“The end of the vaccine pass system does call into question the relevancy of the Government’s Traffic Light Framework, which has vaccine passes at its heart.

“The Government would be better to ditch the whole thing and create some simple rules around masks and perhaps venue limits, rather than persist with a complicated colour-code system that has never been used properly and that barely anyone understands.

“This smacks of a Government that is simply unwilling to cede control and let New Zealanders get on with things.

“While today’s mandate announcements are positive, the Government should also signal a timeline for abolishing the remaining mandates.

“Kiwis have done the right thing – 95 per cent of us are double vaccinated and over 70 per cent of the eligible population is boosted.

“After two tough years, it’s time to get back to normality and start thinking positively about the future.”

We were told that when most of us were vaccinated we could return to normal life. Even with yesterday’s announcement of some loosening of the yellow Covid-tape, we’ll still be waiting for the freedom that used to be normal.

This government has an unfortunate propensity for keeping us waiting.

We waited from Monday’s announcement of today’s announcement for today’s announcement.

Then we had to wait for 10 minutes of party political self-praising history lesson  before we got the announcement.

Now we have to wait until Friday at 11.59 for the start of freedom from the Covid-control freakery that was finally announced.

I’ve seen very few people using the tracer app recently and doubt if anyone is going to dutifully keep using it until a minute before midnight on Friday when there is no reason to do so except that’s what we’re being told to do.

How frustrating that must be for those in charge of sports fixtures on Friday night when they have to restrict numbers even though it will be no less safe to loosen the restriction than it will be on Saturday when they can.

How frustrating too for venues that will have to wait for the waiving of the requirement of vaccine passes and employers and employees who have to wait another couple of weeks before vaccine mandates that currently apply will be dropped.

Keeping the elderly and vulnerable safe still makes sense.

But forcing us to wait for a bit more loosening of the yellow tape when a few days will make no difference to the risk does not.