An injection of $19.5 million has been allocated to frontline Pacific healthcare teams to help combat Covid-19 and to support the Pacific community during this current resurgence.

Although the government funding is needed for urgent medical and practical needs for Pacific families during the Covid-19 resurgence, vice president of the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) Dr Teuila Percival QSO FRACP says there should also be a focus on improving homes and living conditions.

Appearing on TVNZ’s Breakfast this morning, Dr Percival said the Pacific community cannot afford to take their eye off the ball when it comes to issues like housing.

“The virus doesn’t discriminate, and it can affect everybody. But what we worry about is people’s pre-existing conditions like respiratory and chronic conditions. They are more likely to get severe diseases and more likely to die. When you look at underlying health conditions, we need to look at those big determinates, like housing. For us, this is such a big problem.…more

Providing food packages and financial help for utility bills has been a top priority for many of the organisations who are supporting Pacific families during the Covid-19 crisis.

But a need that is just as important is support for Pacific secondary school students so they can have the right tools to continue their studies during lockdown.

Dr Glenn Doherty, CEO of the Langimalie Tongan Health Society Incorporated in Onehunga, says the educational needs of students can be overlooked during a health and economic crisis. His organisation, which is a health provider for Tongan families, is determined to help Pacific students so they don’t fall through the cracks.

“When you’re Year 12 or 13, you’re preparing to either study or work. These Pasifika students are our priority because they are going to be the ones in line to financially help out their families during this time.…more

New Zealand has entered its third week of Covid19 community transmission after the initial lockdown earlier in the year.  Alert Level 3 restrictions for Auckland and Alert Level 2 restrictions for the rest of the country have been extended to the end of the week.

We're giving daily updates via the Ministry of Health and the Prime Minister on our Facebook page.

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Here is our update for the Pacific Region below - 

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PACIFIC ISLANDS 

AMERICAN SAMOA - COVID FREE 

American Samoa is the only US jurisdiction, state or territory, without a confirmed Covid-19 case.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANAS - 54 total cases since March and 2 deaths, 21 new cases since middle of July.

All face-to-face learning in both private and public schools as well as the Northern Marianas College—with the exception of the special education program has been shut down until further notice, given the recent spread of COVID-19 in the community and the recent surge in the number of cases on Guam.…more

More than 13,000 Pacific families have received support packages from various Pacific organisations since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country in March this year.

But John Kiria from the Mt Wellington Integrated Healthcare in Auckland says there are still families who are too shy to come forward and he wants to assure them that there is no shame in reaching out for help.

“This is a unique situation that we have been put in and this is the first time we’ve needed to offer this type of support. Help is out there, and families should not be shy coming to us. There’s no shame in asking for help” he says.

“We don’t know how long this pandemic will last so our Pasifika community needs to know, we are here to lean on if they need our support.”

Mt Wellington Integrated Healthcare and other Pasifika Futures partners across the country have assisted more than 73,000 Pacific individuals by providing care packages and other means of support.…more

An important addendum to todays Covid announcement is that none of the confirmed Pacific cases are so far linked to the Emmanuel Cook Islands Church that the Rydges maintenance worker attended.

Prime Minister Jacinda Adern reinforces the importance of keeping up the high levels of Pacific testing if anyone has symptoms of Covid and reminds the public of how high Pasifika testing numbers are at 23% - higher then the percentage of the Pacific population in Aotearoa.

She has also given assurance that there will be a Pacific member included in the Ministry Of Health team in dealing with assessments and recommendations for our vulnerable communities.

Another important point made for Pasifika communities is that testing for overstayers is done by Ministry Of Health and this testing process isn't connected to other government enforcement agencies. Dr Bloomfield encrouages all people regardless of immigrations status to come forward and says the Government is keen to establish a position of community trust on this.

The Fono, A health and wellbeing group that serves Pacific communities in Auckland and Northland, has been working overtime to mobilise medical support and other resources to Pacific families who have tested positive amid the recent resurgence of Covid-19 and those they have come in close contact with.

More than 75 people who have tested positive are linked to the recent community cluster in Auckland. The majority are Pacific individuals and The Fono, a Pasifika Futures partner, has had 222 referrals for Pacific families who have tested positive for Covid and their close contacts.

The Fono CEO Mr Tevita Funaki says his staff are in daily contact with those who have tested positive and they need reassurance and comfort during this tough time.

“The families are nervous. There is a level of anxiety there. They need to know that this is not their fault. They should be applauded for getting tested and protecting our community. We are here to make sure the families are okay and that their economic and personal needs are catered for during this time,” he says.…more

Weekly briefings in different Pacific languages on various media outlets amid the recent Covid-19 resurgence in Auckland is a vital resource for the community, says a senior Pacific doctor.

Dr Apisalome Talemaitoga FRNZCGP, a senior member of the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) and member of the Health Ministry’s Pasifika Covid-19 response team, says the regular briefings on various Pacific media platforms complement the daily updates by Dr Ashley Bloomfield and are led by Pacific medical professionals fluent in their respective languages.

Dr Talemaitoga says since the recent Covid resurgence has mainly affected Pacific families, the weekly bulletins in languages like Samoan, Fijian, Tongan and Niuean, are essential updates in order to distribute important information to the community.

“There’s been a lot of organising to find Pacific medical staff who are fluent in their language to be part of these briefings because many of them are also working in the hospitals on the frontline.

Many of our Pacific people have low health literacy rates.…more