Tēnā kōutou katoa e te whānau,
These are
unprecedented times, and we know the next while will be challenging for our whānau, iwi and hapū.
Our Wairoa
community response group has been meeting daily to establish ways everyone can
support each other as we navigate the health, social, cultural and economic
effects of COVID-19. We have a network dedicated to this kaupapa, which
includes local health and social services providers, Civil Defence, social
organisations, iwi, hapū,
local business, as well as lcoal and national Government. Ngā mihi ki Te
Taiwhenua o Te Wairoa, nā rātou tēnei roopu e ārahi.
We know many in
our community are not connected digitally, so we encourage you to share the
information in this pānui
with them.
Simple
precautions you can take:
We can all do our
part to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
- Wash
our hands with soap
regularly, for 20 seconds each time.
- Maintain
physical distance – Try to refrain from hongi, hugs and handshakes using
the elbow tap, nod, or karakia instead.
- Stay
home if we’re sick or
think we may have been exposed to illness.
- Find
safe ways to support our older or more vulnerable community members
- Don’t
panic buy bulk groceries
and supplies. Be sensible and community minded – there is enough to go
round for everyone.
- Avoid public events
of 100 or more: Currently all public
events of 100 people or more are discouraged. Every community organisation,
club, society, churches and marae are asked to please follow these to reduce
the risk of COVID-19 spreading. We encourage everyone to keep having
these conversations around public events and to be sensible and avoid putting
our community at risk. It’s great to see most are taking this seriously and
doing this already.
More information on COVID-19 and symptoms, can be found here: www.covid19.govt.nz.
It is important that you
familiarise yourself with all the updated official information from the
Government via this website. You can also call Healthline on 0800 358 5453 at
any time of the day or night.
Important: If you are feeling sick, please stay home
and ring the Healthline number above, or your local health centre for further advice
on 06 838 8333. Please do not go to our hospital if you think you are
displaying COVID-19 symptoms – ring from home first and they will guide you on
what to do.
Support
to help with financial hardship:
Many
in our community may be experiencing financial hardship due to what is
happening with the economy currently, be it via reduced work hours or job
loss. There is organised support for all our workers, their families and
employers who live in Wairoa. Please contact Wairoa Taiwhenua, weekdays from
9am – 3 pm on 06 838 4748 or call in to their Bridge Street office for more
information.
Approved
health posters:
For
businesses, if you would like current information posters to hang at your
organisation or anywhere you feel they may be helpful, these can be collected
free-of-charge from Wairoa Taiwhenua, from their Bridge Street office (9am –
3pm, Monday to Friday). If you would like them them emailed to you –
please contact wairoa.tai.whenua@xtra.co.nz.
Marae:
We have been
asked to help coordinate marae with how they will respond. We are calling
together marae to discuss the recommendations and how this may affect the use
of marae and tikanga practices. Please contact your respective marae in the
first instance, and visit the marae facebook page or website.
It goes without
saying, but it is important that we work together as a collective to stop the
spread of COVID-19 in Aoteraoa, and protect our people and our communities. Tātau Tātau means together, so please do not
hesitate to reach out if you need support.
It is important we remain strong, act sensibly and without panic,
and that we take the correct precautions. Kōrero with your whānau, and make
sure they are feeling safe and not overwhelmed.
Kai te mihi nei
ki a kōutou i tautoko mai.
Hai konā
mai i roto i te tauwhiro a te runga rawa, nā
Lewis Ratapu
General manager
Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa