A Wairoa-led response to the continually changing COVID-19 situation is being developed by local community organisations. 

The Wairoa community has been collaboratively working to support Wairoa’s wellness since New Zealand first responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in March last year.

Community organisations, in conjunction with local social and health service providers, local government, local iwi entities and agencies have been working together preparing plans around vaccination acceleration and COVID preparedness.

Wairoa Mayor Craig Little said our Wairoa District Pandemic Plan is community-led and iwi-partnered. It is a living and fluid response to meet changing community need and accommodate scenarios that may not have been accounted for. 

“It is important our preparedness is appropriately tailored to our Wairoa district, our whānau and our communities. We need to ensure our response suits our various Wairoa communities, rather than one size fits all, as we have many varying contexts across different communities in Wairoa.

“It is also vital our specific needs, such as isolation, vastness of district and vaccination rates are all part of our response.

“This work is a continuation of the Wairoa Wellness Network which formed in response to the first lockdown in March 2020 with our planning agency and organisationally supported and Government enabled and resourced.

“This network has remained active in supporting our community since last year in overall response to Covid-19. It is a collaborative, supportive approach with everyone working behind the scenes to ensure all of our community is supported in any COVID-19 response, be it vaccinations or impending active cases as the virus slowly spreads.”

Mr Little also encouraged people to make a whānau and whare preparation and resilience plan.

“Whānau need to talk about how they will support each other and what they need in their homes for when COVID-19 gets to Wairoa.

“We encourage whānau to make sure you have access to plenty of kai and medical, baby, hygiene and cleaning supplies for a longer period of time than usual.

“Stay connected, stay kind and look after each other.”

23 November 2021

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