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Covid-19: 30 out of 34 hospital admissions are Pacific people
Torika Tokalau18:11, Aug 29 2021Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that areas south of Auckland will switch to Covid-19 alert level 3 next week.
Almost all of New Zealand’s Covid-19 cases in hospital are Pacific people, the Ministry of Health has revealed.
At Sunday’s 1pm daily update, the Director-General of Health announced there were 34 community cases currently in hospital – 32 of whom were in a stable condition in a ward, and two in stable condition in an intensive care unit.
Of the cases in hospital, three were in North Shore; 18 in Middlemore, including the two people in intensive care; 13 in Auckland; and one case in Wellington Regional Hospital.
A ministry spokesperson said 30 of these cases were Pasifika.
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Of the remaining four cases – one was Pākehā, two Māori and one Asian.
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Middlemore Hospital, in south Auckland, has the most hospital admissions of Covid-19 cases.
Bloomfield said a significant portion, more than 60 per cent of all cases, were people aged under 30.
The ministry spokesperson confirmed seven cases are in their 30s, eight in their 50s, three in their 60s and seven in their 70s.
A third of those in hospital were aged below 30 – one person is under 20 year’s old and four are in their 20s.
Of the total hospital admissions, 13 are females and 21 males.
Bloomfield said there are appropriate isolation and infection prevention and control plans in place at all hospitals where Covid-19 patients are being managed.
Pacific people make up most of the Covid-19 cases in the current outbreak and are one of the most vulnerable groups to Covid-19 and the Delta variant because of their higher rate of underlying health conditions.
Joseph Johnson/Stuff
Dr Api Talemaitoga, is a south Auckland general health practitioner.
Pacific health GP Dr Api Taleimaitonga said the number of Pacific cases in hospital was to be expected.
He said Pacific people, like Māori, carry a higher burden of diseases – such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure – than any other group.
“And we get it at a much younger age,” Talemaitonga said.
“That is why one of the arguments we made was to prioritise vaccination to Pacific and Māori, as opposed to the other groups.”
Bloomfield said the hospital admissions was a similar trend to what has been seen overseas where there has been a Delta outbreak – a much higher proportion being younger and many without pre-existing conditions.
Bloomfield said the admission rate this outbreak was about 6-7 per cent – higher than what we’ve seen in previous (non-Delta) Covid outbreaks in New Zealand.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the admission rates is another indication of how Covid-19 affects everyone.
She said it was deeply concerning, and the whole reason why Cabinet took immediate action to lockdown the country as early as it did.
“We know Delta is more infectious and – studies have shown – more dangerous,” Ardern said.
It was another reason why everyone needed to behave and act like they could have the virus, and adhere to restrictions.
She said the important thing with Covid admissions is that hospitals around the country have the capacity to look after people and were geared up for this.
Talemaitonga said he was encouraged to see Pacific vaccination rates increase in the past few days, but said even more could be better.
“We need to be doubling that because of the disease burden we carry.”
The Delta variant was dangerous because it infects younger people, spreads more easily, has a shorter incubation period, a high viral load and lasts longer.
“A lot of our young Pacific people, if they weren’t an essential worker or front line, would not have had the opportunity to access the vaccine until now.
“My plea is that now that the vaccine is more readily available and accessible with drive-throughs, pop-up stations and the 0800 special Pacific line, let’s not waste any opportunity open to us and get vaccinated.”
There have been 511 cases in this outbreak, 490 of which are in Auckland and 15 in Wellington.
The Devonport and Māngere church remain the two main clusters, with 68 and 237 cases respectively.
