The small isolated communities along Tairāwhiti's East Coast say they are putting in the hard mahi as Covid-19 cases rise
The small town of Wharekahika/Hicks Bay near the East Cape is home to around 200 people. Photo: RNZ/Tom Kitchin
Hours away from any pharmacy and with doctors a rare commodity, they have come together to battle the virus.
Ūawa, or Tolaga Bay, is nearly an hour north of Gisborne and home to just over 800 people.
But about 10 percent of the population has Covid - sitting at roughly 80 cases, affecting every generation.
Community social media pages keep locals up to date on the response.
Kaimahi, or staff, post the occasional live video, at places like testing stations, trying to get locals involved.
The local Covid response team leader Victor Walker said there was no doubt the virus was spreading fast.
"Right from the outset, I didn't want to tempt fate and subscribe to the view that we were going to get it, it's going to come," he said.
"But it did arrive, and over the last two or three weeks we've seen a huge rise in cases here."
Onepoto Bay is a secluded cove, just around the corner from Wharekahika. Photo: RNZ/ Tom Kitchin
Walker said doctors were "rarer than hens' teeth" on the East Coast, so locals had had to pull together to do the mahi, whether that involved sorting whānau isolation plans, sending out packs of kai or setting up test collection sites.
"We were able to ameliorate the levels of anxiety that would be present in our community, given its arrival," he said.
But in such a small community, the pressure had been on and people were tired.
"It's pretty much 24/7 some of the work that they're doing so what we've been able to do is second, look through our own organisations, we've seconded people to different roles in the response team."
Further north in the Matakaoa area, near the towns of Te Araroa and Wharekahika, there were a handful of cases - not quite at the levels of Ūawa, but it was growing.
Te Aroha Kanarahi trustee Ani Pahuru-Huriwai said changes had to be made to normal life.
"All of our marae are closed and have been for some time - as we grapple with Covid-19 and looking into purchasing gazebos and things like that where they can meet - we can have gatherings outside."
Photo: RNZ / Tom Kitchin
They were looking for an extra nurse for their Kahi Pahi vaccination van, to take the stress and workload away from others.
But Pahuru-Huriwai was looking forward to the future with hope.
"We look forward to being able to hug again and awhi each other like we normally would, we look forward to having tangihanga again in the way that we normally would. We look forward to just being together."
The small town of Ruatorea has an even higher case rate than Ūawa - sitting over 20 percent, not helped by a handful of people on the coast not isolating when they've tested positive.
Cara-Lee Pewhairangi-Lawton of Ngāti Porou Hauora is leading the vaccination rollout in her rohe. Photo: RNZ / Tom Kitchin
Cara-Lee Pewhairangi-Lawton, based at Ngāti Porou Hauora's hospital in Te Puia Springs, confirmed there was the odd occurrence.
"We still have those who don't isolate, show up at a shop, show up at a social gathering."
Ngāti Porou Hauora distribute these health packs to positive cases who live along the East Coast and in the Ngāti Porou rohe. Photo: Supplied
But despite the remoteness, rapid tests were not hard to come by.
"Initially, yes we were a bit worried that we wouldn't have any and that the supply was going to end, but all those other things that cause us undue anxiety but the RAT tests are flowing now and they're freely available."
And most importantly - they were living by their call to arms for these times - "Whitiki Ngati Porou!"
