Data showing Pacific people are contracting Covid-19 four times more than Maori and eight times more than non-Maori should be a wakeup call to the Government to do more to support this at-risk group, National’s Health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti says.

“In every single strain – Alpha, Delta and now Omicron – the number of Pacific people who have contracted Covid-19 has been disproportionately high. But it’s not clear what the Government has learnt about how best to address this with each successive strain.

“While vaccination rates for this community have been generally pleasing, Pacific people are more likely to live in communal environments with limitations on housing and overcrowding, and more likely to attend large religious gatherings – all of which contribute to high case rates.

“The Government needs to do more to increase educational outreach into Pacific communities, including further use of trusted community and faith leaders, to help inform and educate Pacific people about ways to protect themselves from Covid-19.

“The Government cannot afford to take their eye off the Pacific community during the pandemic, but unfortunately the data for Omicron suggests they already have.”