The Pa Enua borders remain closed until the end of the month to contain the spread of Covid-19 to just Rarotonga and Aitutaki, however, a local resort owner is disappointed with the call.

Pa Enua (outer islands) travel, excluding Aitutaki, is restricted to only people transporting cargo and travellers with an exemption obtained from the Secretary of Health.

Prime Minister Mark Brown said the decision was made to contain the outbreak.

“We’ve got 11 inhabited islands and if you have got Covid on all of the islands you really are spread thin in terms of how much attention you can give to each island,” Brown told Cook Islands News on Friday.

He said the Cook Islands would wait until Rarotonga and Aitutaki pass its peak Covid-19 numbers before reopening.

“Then TMO (Te Marae Ora) will be able to turn their attention to any other island that suddenly has an outbreak and manage them with a lot more focus.”

Brown said the recommendation came from the Ministry of Health.

Public health officer Dr Douglas Lush said it could be a few more weeks before the borders re-open to the outer islands.

“What we’re trying to do is to restrict the spread of the virus. We don’t want it on three islands at once, as that will stretch our already busy health services,” Lush said.

“We want to keep it under control as much as possible.”

Prime Minister Brown said the island councils were also “reluctant for people to come in and introduce Covid”.

He said the Government gave quite a lot of weight to the island councils’ opinion.

“This is their community if they’re not comfortable with how things are progressing, they will let us know and if they are not comfortable then we won’t push an opening that doesn’t suit.”

Brown said he felt the country had struck a “good balance at the moment” with the Pa Enua closed and the rest of the country open.

However, Roger Malcolm, a tourist accommodation owner of Aitu Villas, said he was disappointed.

“I have a business in tourism that will be generating no income for over six weeks. I have staff to pay and little money to do repairs and maintenance,” Malcolm said.

“I have a wife overseas who is unable to come home. She was bringing our daughter and grandchildren back with her to Atiu this Easter for a granny paid holiday. 

“Plus, I am a little bit worried that my booster vaccination will be wearing off as it is already three months since I was boostered.

“I am over 75 years old and health studies of Omicron done in New Zealand show that my chances at my age of being hospitalised go from one chance in 50 to one chance in 13 in about six months. 

“I was ready for Covid three months back. It’s all downhill from now.”

Malcolm said the whole island is vaccinated and there was a growing call of, “why are we waiting and what is the plan”.

He said a public meeting was held on Thursday last week and the majority of people wanted the border opened like Aitutaki.

In the meeting, Malcolm said the hospital on the island indicated they were not ready to open. 

“They had had no ventilator, no training and no equipment to handle Covid from TMO. It appears TMO has no plan for the Pa Enua.”

Malcolm said he was glad with Prime Minister’s assurance that Atiu will reopen after Covid-19 peaks in Rarotonga, adding it sounded like “the beginning of a plan”.

But he said it was still an undetermined time.

“This could be still just kicking the decision to open the Pa Enua borders further and further down the road.”

The Prime Minister said the outer islands know they can’t keep closed forever.
“We will probably see the use of travel exemptions by the Secretary of Health more widely used over the next couple of months,” Brown added.

• Additional reporting from Matthew Littlewood