The Front Page: Summer of Covid - How much risk do Kiwis face over the holiday?

With rising case numbers, Covid-19 remains a risk. Photo / 123RF

Covid-19 has continued to be a dark shadow hanging heavy over everything that has happened this year.

And this disease is not yet done with us.

Case numbers are tracking up again and dozens of New Zealanders are dying every week.

Speaking to The Front Page podcast, NZ Herald science writer Jamie Morton the threat of Covid-19 is still present.

“We might think we’re done with the pandemic, but the pandemic is not done with us,” Morton says.

“The rolling average as of last week was sitting at about 5000 cases for a seven-day average. But last week, numbers passed over 7000 for the first time since August – and that might creep up further as we get closer to Christmas.”

Morton points out that in the last weekly update showed that 29 people died from the virus.

“We’ve lost close to 2260 people to this virus. Just compare that to the 320 people who died on our roads last year. It’s become one of our leading causes of death. I don’t think people realise or understand the impact this is having on our annual mortality. It’s right up there with stroke and lung cancer.”

A common refrain is that Covid-19 is no worse than the flu when it comes to mortality, but Morton says this isn’t accurate.

“Even if you put long Covid aside, Covid-19 has killed four times as many people this year as would have been attributed to flu deaths. The average annual flu mortality is around 500 deaths a year.”

So what does this mean for the country as New Zealanders start moving around? Are small towns at risk? And what long-term strategy does the Government have in place to keep us safe?

Listen to the full episode of today’s The Front Page for Morton’s take on why barbecues might be key to keeping us safer over the summer.