4. Question No. 4—COVID-19 ResponseRACHEL BOYACK (Labour—Nelson) to the Minister for COVID-19 ResponseQuestion No. 4—COVID-19 Response4. RACHEL BOYACK (Labour—Nelson) to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: What steps is the Government taking to protect the South Island from COVID19?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister for COVID-19 Response): Yesterday we confirmed the whole country will shift to the COVID-19 Protection Framework shortly after Cabinet's final decision on 29 November as part of our new strategy to minimise and protect against COVID-19. The Government's worked extremely hard to get as many people vaccinated as possible and South Islanders have responded strongly. As a result they're well placed to enjoy the additional protections and freedoms offered by the traffic light system. Canterbury and Southern DHBs have both passed the 90 percent first dose threshold at 94 and 92 percent respectively and they've reached 83 and 84 percent fully vaccinated. South Canterbury needs just another 417 people as of midnight last night to get to 90 percent first doses while Nelson Marlborough needs 935 more doses to reach that marker. Both of those DHBs are sitting at around 81 percent of people fully vaccinated. So this is good progress and I encourage all South Islanders to keep up the good work and for those who are fully vaccinated to request their My Vaccine Pass.Rachel Boyack: What protection is the Government putting in place for travel to the South Island?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: We've given careful consideration to additional protections for entry to the South Island. Yesterday the Prime Minister and I announced that we'll be enabling interisland ferries to require proof of vaccination or a negative pre-departure test in order to travel between Wellington and Picton. That'll complement Air New Zealand's recently announced requirement of a vaccine certificate or a test before taking a domestic flight from 15 December. The combination of these measures means that all of the entry points to the South Island will be well covered by checks to help reduce that spread in the South.Rachel Boyack: What are the best things South Islanders can do to protect themselves from COVID-19?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: As we shift to the strategy of minimisation and protection all South Islanders do need to understand that COVID-19 could soon make its way into their community. However the traffic light system is safer than the alert level system in the context of a more highly vaccinated population. For example currently in a region at alert level 2 everyone can go to a hospitality setting vaccinated or not with the level 2 restrictions of seated or separated. However at the red level on the new framework you'll also have to be vaccinated. That adds an extra layer of protection. In addition there's plenty that people can do to protect themselves and their friends and their whānau number one being: get vaccinated. That is the single best thing anyone can do to protect themselves and others from the virus. They can encourage others to get vaccinated they can request their vaccine passes and of course they can continue to follow those simple public health measures like washing their hands wearing a mask and scanning in.