Dear Editor, our healthcare is not prepared for 100 cases of Covid, let alone 10.

Government should use funds from the $40 million allocated to infrastructure and source resources for healthcare.

The (public) protest was for an extension on the opening of the border until our healthcare is adequate enough.

Right now, we have a shortage of nurses and doctors, this has been an ongoing issue throughout this pandemic.

I understand we need the borders open to generate income, but at what cost do we risk the survival of our race? Do we fix the issues now or face losing our entire tourism industry?

The other day I read of a 99 per cent vaccinated rate, this information cannot be correct due to the unknown population.

Our once treasured Muri lagoon will only take is one tourist to become ill and the entire tourism industry will shut down.

Water supply, recently we were only days out from declaring a state of emergency, but no one was prepared to inform the public on that matter. How are we going to supply water for another 15,000 when we struggle to supply 9-10,000?

Food shortage, the few months our borders were open this year, store shelves were empty. Fish was the new gold and our locals missed out on almost everything.

Crime rates will certainly climb due to certain policies that businesses are implementing, there are many unvaccinated living in poverty.

Transparency is vital at this time and the people need to understand that opening these borders without fixing these issues will certainly close our tourism industry permanently. Losing our tourism industry will see us fall completely and certainly see that we lose more than what we hope to gain.

Sammy Mataroa

(Facebook)

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Cop out

I was going to shrug off Trev’s reply (Call to clampdown on noisy motorcycles, Cook Islands News, December 16, 2021) but I think that would be a ‘Cop out’ – pun intended. Thank goodness he is not in the front line, except with his words. Actions, not words, from the police is what is required.

I am hoping that the real police traffic responders who are actually out and about, will also have read my letter, and take the required action. It is their job to take note of number plates, and proceed accordingly.

As I already said, even if you can’t see the perpetrators, you can certainly hear them from miles away, so pulling them over with a warning to get the necessary muffler repairs should not be too difficult. Otherwise bike is off the road until repaired!

Andy Olah