New Zealand faces losing up to 10 per cent of its police force – around 1,000 officers – when the country’s vaccine mandate is enforced next month, cops have warned.
To keep their job, all police officers and recruits need to have their first Covid jab on January 17, and the second one by March 1.
New Zealand Police said 94.1 per cent of constabulary staff have had their first jab, while 89.5 per cent are fully vaccinated as of December 7, reports the newspaper New Zealand Herald.
The result is that New Zealand’s 10,200 constabulary officers are at risk of losing around 600 of their jobs next month, and another 400 of them if the second jab is not received by March.
Cops warn that New Zealand could lose up to 10% of its police force, which is approximately 1,000 officers. Here is an image file of a New Zealand cop officer. It is clear that the officer is not being jabbed.
With only 90 coronavirus-related cases reported in New Zealand on the 14th of December, there is a decline in their number.
It would take almost a year to replace those 1000 officers if they were fired due to the mandate for vaccines. There are on average 80 new recruits from the Royal New Zealand Police College each month.
The newspaper was told by an unnamed police officer that he said, “It’s something the Government shouldn’t take lightly.”
“Even a few hundred of your sworn employees will make a huge difference. It will have huge ramifications.
“Skills can be acquired with experience, and knowledge that you can acquire yourself.
Another anonymous officer stated that crime is on the rise, and those who depended on them to handle it and protect the rest are reaching breaking point. The officer stated that you now want to fire more people.
“New Zealand won’t be able to see the effect of this mandate before it actually happens. And then, it’s too late.
An additional officer stated that the Government was already at a loss and that it is very worrying. This Government could lose thousands, even hundreds of years’ worth of knowledge.
Last week, Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, stated that it wouldn’t be an ‘large’ number of officers being fired due to the vaccine mandate.
However, Prime Minister Jacinda ardern said last week that she believes it won’t be a large number of officers losing their jobs because of the mandate to vaccine. She also insisted there had been enough of a buffer from recent recruitment.
Ardern indicated that although time will show how many are lost, she did not believe it would be large, because of all other workforces such as education or health.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said last month in a statement: ‘This mandate is an important step for us. Although staff took all necessary precautions to stop the spread of Covid-19 among their personnel, vaccines are an important component of safety.
“In today’s world, people expect that staff will be fully immunized and protected from the flu virus.
“Our work is not always able to be at arms length with the people that we interact with. Vaccination is the only way to mitigate safety risks in these situations.
Chris Cahill, President of the Police Association stated that more officers would have been double-vaccinated in January.
Cahill stated that he didn’t know the exact number of people until the health order kicked in. Police are then able match the data they have with the data for health.
“We are not certain it will exceed 600. We would be shocked if it wasn’t comparable to other institutions that were captured under either the education mandate or the health mandate. These figures range from one percent to one half percent, which is what we expect it will end up being.
It comes as Ardern signalled a potential delay in opening borders due to the emergence of the Omicron variant.
She confirmed that The parliament will rethink on Tuesday. It is now scheduled for January 17, with the much-awaited reopening. This review can be done on January 7, or 8.
New Zealand is still waiting for the Omicron version. Ms Ardern wants it to stay out of New Zealand while scientists evaluate how dangerous and transmittable it could be.
Ardern explained that while we hadn’t made any changes at this stage in reconnection, it was clear to the public that they need to look into Omicron.
Chris Hipkins from Covid-19 stated that it was very likely the nation would resume its planned reopening by mid-February. However, the Omicron strain might prove to be an obstacle.
At Tuesday’s close, 94% have received at least one dose and 89% are up to date with their full vaccinations.
Coronavirus cases are dropping in the country. Only 90 people infected with it on Tuesday.
Kirk Hope, the chief executive at Business NZ, dismissed claims that the government was ‘too cautious’ when flagging an eventual delay in reopening.
They are using a strategy that works for them. He said that it was becoming increasingly frustrating for business.
“The border rethink caused quite a bit of uncertainty for businesses. They had been eager to see the doors open on the border just a tiny bit.”