The Cook Islands Red Cross Society has been grateful for several “walk in” volunteers who have helped with the ongoing delivery of Covid-19 welfare packages.

The initiative, which is done in tandem with the Ministry for Internal Affairs has seen nearly 1300 packages delivered since the pandemic began.

Cook Islands Red Cross Society spokesperson Patience Vainerere said they were grateful for the large number of volunteers who simply “walked in” and assisted with deliveries and putting the boxes together.

“The community has really taken ownership of this,” Vainerere said.

“People are really keen to help out where they can.”

Welfare packs range from $80 for an individual, $130 for a family of two to four, $180 for a family of five to eight, and $230 for a family of nine or more.

In the past week, there have been nearly 400 packages delivered to isolating families.

“Te Marae Ora (TMO) have been really helpful in providing vehicles to deliver all the packages,” Vainerere said.

“Also, we’ve had Puna leaders come on board and help with sorting out the packages.”

So far, the welfare packages have assisted 4770 people in the Cook Islands.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the welfare package delivery service will be unavailable from Friday to Monday, due to it being the Easter weekend.

Therefore, those in isolation have to place their order on Thursday, while normal operating hours for the service will resume on Tuesday.