Festival One being forced to cancel is terribly sad, but was completely avoidable yet totally predictable.
While 60,000 fans fill a soccer stadium every day in the UK, the New Zealand government has completely failed to ‘plan’ for the use of rapid antigen testing – because of their ideological (not scientific) opposition to RATs.
They have been a one-trick-pony with vaccinations, but as Dr Bloomfield has said
“Omicron escapes vaccinations”. And Dr Michael Baker admitted that the traffic lights system was about pushing people to vaccination, not about “transmission”.
It’s time to use all the options on the table. Rapid antigen testing could have saved this music festival and others, could have saved jobs and careers, could keep young people in sports and part-time jobs, and allowed people to worship together to lift their spirits as communities and support each other.
It’s time to get New Zealand working – together.
