New Zealand PM calls for unity in fight against Covid-19

Wellington: New Zealand Prime Minister called for citizens' unity in the resistance against the Covid-19 pandemic after the situation has forced the nation to celebrate national Waitangi Day in virtual mode, Reuters reported.

After the advent of Omicron, the country was forced to shift celebrations online, and the PM had once again urged people to get immunised.

In a recorded speech on Sunday, Arden said they all must do everything they can to protect their communities with all the available scientific tools. They have shown unity throughout the recent few years, despite difficulties. But if they are together, they could keep overcoming challenges, she said.

The New Zealand Health Ministry data suggested that 93 per cent of eligible people above 12 years of age have been vaccinated twice, while 49 per cent of eligible adults were given booster doses. However, infections keep rising in the country. Sunday recorded 208 community cases while it was 243 on Saturday, which was a record count.

Waitangi Day is the commemoration of an 1840 founding treaty signed between the indigenous Maori people and the British crown at the Waitangi region of North Island. Imperial Britain had possessed much of Maori lands during the colonial years.

In December, the New Zealand administration had launched a Maori Health Authority for the Maori community, which constitute 15 per cent of the country's population, to access better health facilities. Referring to that, Arden said on Sunday that the government has an obligation to make sure everyone has access to health care and no one die younger than everyone in New Zealand because they are Maori.